The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) asked local government units (LGUs) to lead the proper disposal of medical waste in their respective areas.
In a Laging Handa public briefing on Monday (June 14), DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda admitted that the department faces a challenge in the proper disposal of medical waste such as face masks and face shields.
“Medyo lumaki po ang volume ng ating mga basura, especially ito pong mga household healthcare waste na kinabibilangan ng face mask and face shield,” he said.
Antiporda said the department issued Resolution No. 1364 and Resolution No. 1429 to resolve the problem in medical waste.
“Ang Komisyon po ay naglabas ng Resolution 1364 providing guidelines on the management of COVID-19 related waste, and of course, iyon ngang Resolution No. 1429, series of 2021, enjoining all national government agencies to provide yellow bins in their respective premises for the proper storage of household healthcare waste and coordinate with respective LGU for transport, treatment, and disposal of such waste.”
He called on the LGUs to help the department implement the resolution on providing yellow trash bins, so that the public will know how to properly dispose of medical waste amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Report from Louisa Erispe/NGS-jlo
