Marikina City turns cooking oil, styro into landscaping bricks

The Marikina city government has encouraged its residents to give their used cooking oil to the City Environment Management Office (CEMO) instead of just throwing it away.

 

Aside from used cooking oil, CEMO will also collect used Styrofoam through its Material Recovery Facility.

 

The oil and styrofoam will be mixed and melted down to make decorative paving blocks for use in the city’s parks and playgrounds.

 

“CEMO is tasked to properly dispose of used cooking oil to prevent it from contaminating the water system, especially Marikina River,” said Mayor Del de Guzman.

 

“The program will also prevent the residents from repeatedly using used cooking oil which may cause severe diseases that may lead to cancer,” he added.

 

The mayor explained that the collection will be done every Sunday of the month in specific areas.  “For the first Sunday, collection will be done in Barangays Kalumpang, San Roque, Sta. Elena, Sto. Niño, and Industrial Valley Complex; Second Sunday collection is in Barangays Barangka, Tañong, Jesus Dela Peña, Malanday, and Marikina Heights.”

 

Third Sunday collection will be in Barangays Concepcion Uno, Tumana, and Nangka. For the last Sunday, CEMO will make the rounds in Barangays Parang, Fortune, and Concepcion Dos.

 

“The city government is expecting the residents' cooperation in this project. Used cooking oil is bad for our health, especially with repeated use. Also, instead of throwing our trash into landfills, we can transform them into useful products,” De Guzman said.  — TJD, GMA News