Since 1999 we’ve been on our own when it comes to the removal of basura trash, rubbish garbage, swill or any other name you want to call it. I had a problem but I solved it; the 14 dogs would consume 95% of food waste. Then the cans (Rinsed of course) bottles plastic containers (Again rinsed) and cardboard is picked up by the miner of precious materials. And he’ll pay you for the privilege of carting it away whether on a push cart, bicycle with cage attached or work Trike. I found that the recycle guys were selective as to what they took and would refuse the rest.
Then it occurred to me that if I told them they could have it all for free but with the caveat they had to take it all (All of the proper stuff that is.) they gladly agreed. The little bit of what was left I had a stainless steel incinerator built to burn whatever was left. Now all that’s left is my 14 members of the Dog Army that’ll leave deposit around the yard that can be taken care of using the 15 X 15 foot square by 15 foot deep septic tank. The ash from my incinerator was bagged up, but not color coded and as I drove to Olongapo I would stop my car open the trunk and deposit it with other bags I found on the side of the road. I did that for ten years and no one ever said a word to the Kano.
Simple solutions to simple problems and the plan worked until a year ago when our new Barangay Kaptian (Boy Antonio) bought a small dump truck with tax payer money. And for safe keeping it is stored on his farm and it comes around once a month for the picking up of refuse.
This month plan “B” will be enacted as screamed out by the loud Lady who comes around on trash removal days with her speaker on the roof of the Barangay’s 10 year old Revo and set at decibel 92 that even I can hear and announced that all basura will now be color coded. Unlike Manila where color coding means the last number on your auto tag, here they actually mean a color from the color chart.
The uproar in the purok could be heard in downtown Dinalupihan Bataan. There was the wailing and the gnashing of teeth (For those who still have them) and you could cut the tension with a jungle bolo. I was sitting on my wall out front watching and ignorant as to what was being said (Blissfully ignorant by the way) Heads were being scratched until hair was now falling to the street, Mayang pulled herself from the fray and explained that all trash bags must be either Red or Green, Red being for very bad garbage and Green being not so bad garbage? If this new ruling was not adhered to the bags would not be picked up. No one explained the difference between good and bad garbage.
Back to the Loud Lady with the microphone in the Revo; she was asked where these bags could be availed of, to which she responded as a true bureaucrat; “That’s not my problem!” again pandemonium broke out. Mayang and her purok mates are in a state of high agitation. I sipped my coffee and observed but not opening my mouth Yes I was smiling) but wondering how anything ever got done.
The loud lady departed to spread her message of helpfulness and joy within the adjoining Purok’s (I knew that because I could still hear her.) I now finished my coffee. The rest of my day was involved with the same topic, by Mayang, my daughter and my niece. My grandson didn’t really care so I hung with him and his box of Lego’s.
Monday morning I wandered down to the Barangay Hall and was greeted by the boys. Had a cup of coffee and waited for the Kaptian. Boy Antonio and I get along very well, as I’m a smart man and know the best way of dealing with any local power structure, is respect and or arse kissing. I asked for clarification on the new color coding of the trash bags. Never bringing up the attitude of the Loud Lady, as that would put the Kaptian on the defensive since she works for him. Hey, I was protective of my troops in the Navy.
Paul Harvey “The Rest of the Story” the trash may be in a rice bag, birdfeed bag a plastic shopping bag or even a black Glad trash bag, the color coding applies only to the tie that is used to close the bag, (A item never clarified by the argumentive loud lady) whether it be string tape or anything that is either green or red and will hold the bag shut. I thanked the Kaptian and explained that my lack of language skills had me confused. I am such a kiss arse and or sycophant. But I received the proper answer and peace and harmony was maintained between us.
Now to explain it to Mrs. Thompson and I don’t care a whit if she gets the word out to our neighbors. I’ve done my part and got a free cup of coffee to boot. As Mr. Rogers would say; “It’s just another loverly day in the neighborhood.”
Back to the Sunday or I I refer to it as “The Day of the Loud Lady.” I watched the truck pull away loaded beyond capacity, the young men dangle precariously off every edge of the it, and I think about the color coding and I wonder, what happens when it leaves the mountain? Is it really separated into two piles when it arrives at that mythical place that trash goes to? If this helps the sorters at the land fill to keep them from inadvertently opening a “Bad Bag” then our effort is well worth while and color coding will be another total success. BTW after explaining it all to Mayang, she went out and found red and green trash bags. Why do I bother?
Later I’ll have a beer and flush any thoughts of this subject out of my head and wonder no more.
Laughed my butt off Paul! love your sense of humor!
Mayang must be very entertained by you, or you by HER?
Keep these pearls coming, I look forward to them, always brightens my day,LMAO!
Heinz;
As I’ve said in the past, if you just sit on the wall you’ll see the strangest things . Mayang doesn’t always see the humor in everything, but I will point it out to her.
Good morning from muggy weather of Tagaytay. A very good article..I have a question, do they regularly pick up the trash from your barrio? I have a friend who lives in a nearby town, in a not so well connected barrio, their trash/garbage only get collected when the garbage men feels like it. Telling their village chairman? Something close to Bob De Niro’s “forget about it”. Have a great day there in DinBat, Mr. Paul T.
Jose;
One Sunday a month is it, but the government figured out.that we’re poor and don’t throw away that much. But now what little we do, we color code.
To answer your question, you really don’t want to know where it goes and you REALLY don’t want to go where it goes! Several years ago, my sister in law wrote an MS thesis for Environmental Science at UP Los Baños on waste disposal in small municipalities. Her thesis supervisor demanded pictures, since he could not believe her results. Guess who had to take them. DISGUSTING! Truely disgusting.
Donald;
And I would explain to my Sister-in-Law how to use the camera APP on her trusty cella phone as I wait in the car with a refreshing beverage. But I agree with you that is one more subject as to where it goes, that I’ll happily remain blissfully ignorant about. I liked Joe’s theory that it just goes away.
Laughing as I read your article Paul. As always your laid back in retirement approach inspires me more and more to adopt your phil-osophy. As for trash or what ever the Proper Filipino term is for it, We don’t have any pick up or disposal here in the upper altitudes of Ozamiz. As I was getting my new Old hose ready to move into 3 years ago the thought of what to do with it would occasionally creep through the fog in my mind and perplex me until I could replenish the SMB induced fog. Alas after I moved in the problem resolved it self when I Hired my wife sister and sister inlaw to clean my tiny provincial home. They come daily to sweep and buff the floors,dust do the dishes and wash, dry and fold our clothes. Somewhere in the process the garbage vanishes from the premises. A month or so later some of the cans will reappear with freshly rooted plants and flowers in them. I expect that the rest of it is the source of that foul smelling white smoke I Pass through on the way to town but then again, what they do with it after they take it away is of no concern to me since this is the Filipino mountain peoples way of doing things since there were mountain people!
Joe;
So it just vanishes? Now that is a proper solution if ever I heard one. On something’s it is better to never question what has always been.
Best not to think about it. I enjoyed the time with you and yours so much that we are coming back to Subic this month to visit and look for houses for when I retire. I’ll sent you all the details on you FB page, looking forward to the visit but not the trip. Can’t wait to go back to Texas Joe’s. Good article as always.
Steve;
Best not to think about it….That was easy. I know what you mean by the trip, I sometimes had do do it six times a year if I mistimed what ship’s I was going to. See ya when you get to town.
Here in our subdivision, the garbage is collected every second day – that is if they remember it.
We have to segregate our garbage in 2 containers: Biodynamic and regular.
Ok, i am used to that, but i really wonder if it will go 2 different places or end up in the same pile anyway.
Maybe i should follow the truck one day and see what happens?
Answer to that…Naaaa…..That would be a kind of work.
Axel;
My point entirely I think it’s all dumped together is one giant steaming pile, and then the poor folks start tearing it apart. Maybe the color coding is for their benefit?
Paul –
Come to think of it, maybe the color coding does benefit the poor folks, as you say. Not in any way to make fun of the poor folks, but it would make their jobs easier by ignoring the bags tied with red strings and just concentrating on the green ones.
John;
You might be right about the pickers at the dump, but do you think that they will trust us to get the green and red tags right? Or would they open them all to make sure they got the good stuff?
You’re right again, Paul. Not many poor folks that I know trust rich folks about doing things right. LOL
John;
They must trust rick folks a little, they keep electing them. That applies to the world.
Paul
That tale cheered me up on a boring Monday morning at work.
Love the bit about you explaining to the wife and she does something different anyway. Oh so familiar!!
Cheers
AJ UK
AJ UK;
Why do we bother explaining anything? I don’t believe she’s being contrary on purpose, but then she’ll fix me a cocktail and I forget I even told her.
Well Paul, YOU may be happy and contented, and willling to forget the subject for evermore. I however am still perturbed. I want…NEED…to know what’s bad rubbish and what’s good rubbish. Even if I am 80% certain it will all go to the same tip and be picked over by the same rubbish pickers, I want to understand the theory…please find out asap.
J
Jim;
It’s not a burning question in my neck of the woods; we let everyone decide on their own. I generate empty SMB cans that are redeemed for cash and recycled. I’m just doing my little par
Here in Florida trash is used to make hills. the two highest points in the county are the present and the past dump. In Ohio we had strip mines that can be leveled with trash. Some sites have vents for gas that is flamed or used for fuel. After many years these sites become golf courses and high end housing developments. Sometimes it is good to poor (less affluent).
Gerald;
Somehow the thought rich folk living atop garbage cheers me up.
Paul –
Just be careful around Christmas when the dominant colors are red and green. Make sure that you don’t leave Christmas shopping bags of either color full of gifts lying around outside your wall unattended, or they might end up in the garbage heap.
John;
Nothing gets out the door that has not been checked first by Mayang. The truck must wait as she hands it through the gate. Anything left on the street is fair game for the stray dogs.
Paul,
Our Subdivision picks up twice a week for which our 550p per month pays for along with security. We paid for a whole year and got 1 free month lol. People who live over the wall outside the subdivision love to burn trash 1st thing in the morning to wake me up.
Papa Duck
PNP 550.00 a month; they must color code it for you as they cart it out of your gated community, they must spray it so it smells nice as it leaves. Burning refuse in the morning, it smells like victory….(LOL)
We are lucky here. We get garbage pickup free, daily. Usually not on weekends, though, but every weekday. We pay nothing. Free security too! 🙂
Bob;
I have no problem with that, but then I’d have nothing to write about if I didn’t live in Dinalupihan Bataan. Everything in life is a trade off, while sitting on my wall pondering my navel. Oh and this week the Navy is visiting Subic and they perform flight ops over my house. I just snap off a hand salute and shout; “Three cheers for Naval Air!” (lol)
Excellent article, and great how you deal with people. Was all of this done in English?
Marc;
The loud lady was in Tagalog, but I didn’t speak to here (As if you could get a word in.) But yes everything else was in English.
Paul,
Funny article! I enjoyed it. The prior place I lived in they collected the trash every Wednesday. Or like what one of your readers eluded to – when they felt like it.
I have since moved to a Village. I don’t have the trash buildup outside my house now because the kids here go through nightly and whisk away the garbage for a few pesos. Everybody is happy!
I was thinking about buying them a wagon they can pull. It’ll make their job so much easier. I have no clue as to where they bring it to, but I don’t worry about that end of it. Just as long as it’s no longer in front of my house. haha
Enjoyed the article! Keep pounding the keyboard!
Bill
Bill;
As long as it is no longer there, where it goes doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of life. The kids seem like they are providing a valuable service, so maybe a wagon is a good idea. It could be the start of a future in waste removal and a fleet of trucks all because of one act of kindness. Then the teamsters would show up and demand less hours and more money and the trash won’t be picked up… Wait that wagon is a bad idea! (lol)
Paul,
You’d make a great Spin Doctor! haha
Bill;
As long as Hilary doesn’t call me to work for her…Nobody is that good.