‘Palit-Basura’ project fosters cooperation

WASTE MANAGEMENT. Residents of San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte trade in their wastes for household and school essentials in this undated photo. The waste diversion project has reduced the volume of discarded materials in sanitary landfills. (Photo courtesy of PBMES)

By Leilanie Adriano

San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte—Residents of this town have shown overwhelming support for the local government's waste management efforts by participating in the “Palit-Basura” program that allows them to swap discarded materials for school and household essentials.

Orlando Pascua, principal of the Pasion-Barangay Memorial Elementary School, said that the program encourages responsible waste management.

Teachers, students and parents gather discarded materials such as plastic wrappers, shampoo sachets and other packaging materials and traded them at the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) for corresponding points every Tuesday and Thursday.

Through the program, Pascua said education stakeholders are inspired to maintain zero-waste communities.

“Recently, we have collected a total of 191 kilos of mixed paper, including colored and white papers, cardboard, cartons, old magazines, notebooks and even termite-infested reading materials and exchanged it for school and office supplies, as well as toiletries,” he said.

Councilor Nestor Ribao of Brgy. San Pablo said people do not just throw litter away because they might be useful for the program.

“Our accumulated trash and waste have been bartered for two reams of bond paper, two broomsticks, two hand soaps, isopropyl alcohol, two dust pans and a water dipper,” he said.

MENRO also accepts worn-out or busted mobile phones, clean and sanitized clear glass bottles and tin cans in exchange for memory flash drives, correction tapes, staplers, permanent markers, scissors, plastic basins and garden tools.

San Nicolas is famous for its pottery industry.

Comments

Free dormitories eyed for Nueva Era students in LC, Batac

Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida By Dominic B. dela Cruz ( Staff Reporter) Nueva Era , Ilocos Norte—The municipal government here, headed by Nueva Era mayor Aldrin Garvida is planning to establish dormitories in the cities of Laoag and Batac that will exclusively cater to college students from the said cities. “Sapay la kuma ta maituloyen iti mabiit tay ar-arapaapen tayo ken iti munisipyo a maipatakderan kuma dagiti annak tayo a college students nga agbasbasa idiay siyudad iti Batac ken Laoag iti libre a dormitoryo a bukod da ngem inggana nga awan pay ket an-anusan mi paylaeng nga ibaklay kenni apo bise mayor iti pagbayad da iti kasera aggapu iti bukod mi a suweldo malaksid dagitay it-ited iti munisipyo ken iti barangay nga stipend da kada semester, ” Garvida said. Garvida added that the proposed establishment of dormitories would be a big help to the students’ parents as this would shoulder the expenses of their children for rent and likewise they would feel more secured

Empanada festival: A celebration of good taste and good life

By Dominic B. dela Cruz & Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporters BATAC CITY—If there is one thing Batac is truly proud of, it would be its famous empanada-making business that has nurtured its people over the years. Embracing a century-old culture and culinary tradition, Batac’s empanada claims to be the best and tastiest in the country with its distinctive Ilokano taste courtesy of its local ingredients: fresh grated papaya, mongo, chopped longganisa, and egg. The crispy orange wrapper and is made of rice flour that is deep-fried. The celebration of this city’s famous traditional fast food attracting locals and tourists elsewhere comes with the City Charter Day of Batac every 23 rd of June. Every year, the City Government of Batac led by Mayor Jeffrey Jubal Nalupta commemorate the city’s charter day celebration to further promote its famous One-Town, One Product, the Batac empanada. Empanada City The Batac empanada festival has already become an annua

Pagudpud’s tourism transformer passes away

By Leilanie G. Adriano Staff reporter LAOAG CITY—Retired Philippine Air Force Col. Ricardo Nolasco Jr., owner of Hannah’s Beach Resort and Convention Center in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte passed away on Wednesday evening, July 11, 2018. He was 67. “He did not survive an open-heart surgery,” said Ronald Dominguez, spokesperson of the largest resort at Brgy. Balaoi in Pagudpud. Known as the architect behind the transformation of Pagudpud town as a premiere destination of the north, Mr. Nolasco put up Hannah’s Beach Resort in what was originally meant as a family vacation resort. The rest is history when it expanded into more than 300-room executive villas and cabanas, with on-going infrastructure developments and set up various amenities. As a result, hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists visit here daily. The resort is on a cliff by the beach, which provides a spectacular view of the sparkling blue lagoon. “Yesterday will go down my lifeline as one

The Ilocos Times

Search This Blog