La Union villagers seek closure of open dumpsite

By Dexter A. See

ROSARIO, La Union — Hundreds of residents in a village here are demanding the municipal government to close the operation of the open dumpsite in Barangay Inabaan Norte claiming it now poses a serious threat to their health and the environment in the town.

The concerned residents claimed continuous dumping of mixed waste in the open dumpsite results in the emission of obnoxious odor as well as the pollution of the air, water and land due to the production of toxic wastes which flows down to the river systems and the agricultural farms near the dump facility.

According to their complaint, disposing mixed animal and solid waste into the open dumpsite is no longer advisable because of the toxic waste being produced at the facility that produces obnoxious odor which result to the inconvenience of the people living in the vicinity of the facility.

Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act mandates all local governments to close the operation of their respective open dumpsites within four years after the effectivity of the law in 2000 and establish their own controlled dump facilities or engineered sanitary landfill.

The residents disclosed numerous children in the vicinity of the open dumpsite are now suffering from upper respiratory diseases because of the obnoxious odor emanating from the mixed wastes being dumped by the municipal government in the facility.