The City Environmental and Management Office (CEMO) in Marikina City started its clean-up drive to remove all election paraphernalia plastered all over the city on Tuesday, May 10.
In an interview with DZBB, Marikina Mayor Marcelino "Marcy" Teodoro said that around 20 dump trucks of campaign paraphernalia were collected the day after the elections.
Majority of the collected waste were the tarpaulins of both national and local candidates and party-lists posted on public areas and private residences all around the city.
He explained that they were taken to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in the city in order to be sorted and recycled.
In the MRF, staff of the CEMO separate the biodegradable and compostable materials. The plywood stuck to some of the tarpaulins were removed and stored for later use.
The tarpaulins are shredded in a machine, where the granules of plastics would be processed and turned into compact plastic blocks or "eco-bricks" that the local government uses for small infrastructure projects.
The CEMO aims to completely collect all the campaign-related waste in the city within the week.
Teodoro said they are planning to donate some of the recycled waste to local women's groups that sew bags and other items using plastic materials.
The newly re-elected mayor urged for the people's cooperation in maintaining the cleanliness and orderliness amid the waste within the city.
"Aking pinakikiusapan ang lahat ng kapwa ko kandidatong tumakbo nitong nakaraang halalan, nanalo man o natalo, sama-sama nating linisin ang ating mga ikinabit na election paraphernalia (To my fellow candidates who ran in this election, whether they won or lost, let's help each other remove all the election paraphernalia in the city)," Teodoro added.