Rosa Java is a scavenger who scouts for recyclables and sell these to junk shops. She lives within the dumpsite compound the last three years even when it was still filthy. They ate inside mosquito nets then, to get the flies off their food. During the rainy months, worms from decaying garbage crawled up their shanties. That's all gone now, she said, but with it is a decline in their source of living. Rosa said they used to earn about a thousand pesos a week from the junk they were able to get from the dumpsite. Today they are lucky if they get to earn 300 pesos for the same period.
Solis attributed this to the improvement of the people's knowledge about segregation. What others threw away in the past, they now collect themselves and sell. Solis said they were looking at the 13 families living at the dump area as possible partners in gathering the plastics from the composts. These plastics will also be compressed into blocks and then sold to recycling plants. In the meantime, the scavengers were given soft loans by the city government for use as their capital in buying the recyclables from various sources. "In sum, what matters is what we can do well with the resources we have," said Lacson. Lacson, who was the city's vice mayor for three terms before becoming its chief executive, said 'continuity' is also a key in local governance. "Just continue the good (policies) from a past administration and follow the development plan so that resources are maximized and projects are not disrupted." Right now, San Carlos City is a learning school for the rest of the country's local government units, it being the first to apply rice hull technology using the windrow technique for mixed garbage in its solid waste project. Local officials from across the country had been going to this city to look at the project-to better appreciate it--and smell the dumpsite as well. If only for this, San Carlos City is worth a visit.
http://www.inq7.net/reg/2003/nov/08/reg_5-3.htm
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