By Leonardo Micua
DAGUPAN CITY—With no more available dumpsite to accommodate any more wastes from the communities, Mayor Belen Fernandez has ordered the full implementation of total waste segregation in all 31 barangays of Dagupan, directing barangay officials to lead and educate residents on proper waste management.
Speaking at a Waste Segregation Conference at CSI Stadia on January 26, attended by barangay captains, councilors, and Sangguniang Kabataan chairpersons, Fernandez stressed the urgency of compliance with the city’s policy: “No segregation, no collection.”
Under the new system, segregated waste will be collected from barangay material recovery facilities and transported directly to the sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, bypassing the 60-year-old Bonuan dumpsite, which has been closed since last year.
The site has already been partially rehabilitated, with 1,500 of a planned 5,000 trees planted.
To ensure efficient waste removal, the city purchased five additional dump trucks to supplement two existing units and hired new drivers, enabling the daily hauling of up to five truckloads of garbage per truck.
This approach replaces the previous administration’s outsourced disposal system, with the help of a contractor, which cost P54 million alone during the last 40 days of the Lim administration.
Fernandez said the dumpsite’s closure averted potential environmental disasters similar to the Cebu garbage collapse that killed 28 people.
She outlined plans to convert the area “from dumpsite to fun site,” including a proposed surfing destination—the first in Pangasinan—complementing the One-Bonuan Pavilion and Tondaligan Skateboard Park.
The site is now being fenced, with a proposal from the youth sector to establish a football field.
To support barangays, the city has deployed six mini-dump trucks, now color-coded, and one large dump truck, with plans to acquire four more mini-dump trucks, 100 customized tricycles or “garongs,” a loader, and two backhoes.
Under the program, each colored mini-dump truck will pick up specific wastes from the households.
The conference was attended by Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Chester Casil and representatives from EMB Region 1.The city government is urging residents to actively participate in waste segregation to sustain environmental protection and support Dagupan’s push toward eco-tourism and cleaner communities.