Mayor Florencio Bernabe said he has ordered the city’s Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) to study the possibility of converting the "messy and dirty" junkshops into a clean and environment-friendly entities and regulating their operation.

"We have to conduct a study on the inclusion of junk shop business in the city’s existing zoning laws in order for the junkyard to be situated along industrial zones and not inside residential or commercial areas," Bernabe said.

He said he has received numerous complaints from residents that junk shop operators not only fail to clean their surroundings but also park their huge vehicles along streets, thus helping cause traffic congestion in the area.

The mayor said he knows the importance of junk shop operation in maintaining an environment-friendly solid waste management program, thus its problem should be addressed the soonest time possible.

According to Willy de Ocampo, head of the SWMB, there are some 900 junk shops currently operating in the city. Most of them do not have license and business permits, he said.

Bernabe warned illegal junkshops that they face closure if they don’t legalize their operation by applying for business permits.