PARANAQUE City Mayor Florencio M. Bernabe Jr. has urged the city's Solid Waste Management Board (PSWMB) to create a committee that would regulate junkshops and convert them into partners in the city's cleanliness and waste management campaign.
In a recent PSWMB meeting held at the Paranaque City Hall, City Administrator Noli Aldip said Mayor Bernabe wanted the board to study the possiblity of converting these "messy and dirty" junkshops into clean and environment-friendly entities.
"Our Mayor wants us to formulate rules and regulations to address problems of junkshop operators and convert them into professional, efficient and orderly business enterprises because they play a key role in the collection of recyclable waste materials," Aldip said.
He said there were numerous complaints from residents that junkshop operators not only fail to clean their surroundings, but also park huge haulers and trucks along streets that congest and result in traffic jams.
"Mayor Bernabe wants us to study the inclusion of the junkshop business in the city's existing zoning laws in order that a junkyard could be situated along industrial zones, not inside residential or commericial areas, and be provided with ample parking spaces," Aldip said.
He added the mayor knows the importance of junkshop operation in maintaining an environment-friendly solid waste management program, thus, its problems should be addressed soon.
According to Willy de Ocampo, head of the city's solid waste management office, some 900 junkshops are currently operating in the city, and most of them have no license or business permits.
Aldip said that as soon as the PSWMB comes out with pertinent rules, these junkshops should follow them or city hall will be forced to close them.
Resources courtesy of the Paranaque Information Office
