Before Olongapo City became known for being one of the cleanest cities in the country, it was beset by various health and sanitation problems, foremost of which was the garbage problem. Garbage was often left uncollected, and residents either burned their garbage or tossed them in rivers. This soon became an eyesore, not to mention a serious health threat to the residents.

      It was in September 1989 that the city government of Olongapo implemented an integrated garbage collection scheme, which was to be the first in the country. The task at hand was overwhelming but to help encourage cleanliness and explain the program to the city residents, a massive information campaign was launched. Residents were educated on the harmful effects of garbage on the environment, as well as on their health. They were also taught the use of recyclable plastic bags for garbage collection.

      City officials understood that public acceptance was crucial to the success of the program. This was addressed through a dynamic communication campaign which included gimmicks such as school poster contests, barangay cleanliness drives, and even the composition of a special jingle played on the eight garbage trucks’ public address systems.

      The city government’s efforts were not in vain, and soon the residents got into the spirit of cleanliness. Recyclable plastic bags of standard size, which were distributed to the residents to put their garbage in, were put out twice weekly and were then collected for proper disposal. P10.00 to P20.00 was charged monthly for this service. Businesses also have their garbage collected daily by uniformed garbage collectors, for which companies have to pay P30,000 to P300,000, depending on the amount of garbage. Annually, a total of P6 million are collected from this project. Less program costs and other expenses, the Olongapo city government generates P2 million in revenues.

      The Solid Waste Management program of Olongapo City has been a huge success and to this day, is still being implemented. Moreover, it has inspired several other LGUs to adopt the city’s garbage collection system. Due to its success and consequent popularity, over 50 local government units from 9 of the country’s 14 regions have come to Olongapo to study this program.