Three garbage collectors were injured after broken bottles were mixed with the trash they hauled in Cagayan de Oro City.

According to Engineer Armen Cuenca, head of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO), the broken bottles placed in a black bag whose contents were not segregated, injured the collectors while they were hauling piles of garbage left uncollected in Barangay Canitoan.

The collectors sustained injuries in their hands and feet after the bottles fell out of the bag when the bag got torn.

“Kumpyansa kaayo ang palero kay black bag lagi, abi nila normal lang… nagisi unya naigo gyud sa ilang tiil ang duha unya ang isa sa kamot,” Cuenca said.

Cuenca added that they have been reminding the public to segregate their garbage in three bins – biodegradable, non-biodegradable, and recyclable – but residents repeatedly failed to do so.

Cuenca said this was not the first time that collectors got injured because of hazardous waste disposed improperly by residents.

“Kung sa inyo na mahitabo, unsa ma’y inyong bation? Unya luoy kaayo ang palero kay mao ra na ilang masudlan nga trabaho unya karon wala nakatrabaho tungod kay dako man kaayo ang samad,” Cuenca said.

Meanwhile, the city government has started the rebidding for garbage collection services after the contract with the previous company expired in August 2025.