Baguio finds new trash disposal site in P’sinan

By Dexter A. See 

BAGUIO CITY – The city government has found a cheaper and much nearer waste disposal site in the engineered sanitary landfill of Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan said he had signed an agreement with the broker for the Urdaneta City sanitary landfill for the city to dump its waste there which is nearer compared to the Capas sanitary landfill in Tarlac which is being now being used by the local government as its solid waste disposal site.

“The city government will save P150 for every ton of garbage that will be dumped in the Urdaneta sanitary landfill compared to the expenses of the local government in the dumping of waste in the Capas sanitary landfill,” Domogan said.

He added the tipping fee in Capas, Tarlac is P800 per ton of garbage while the cost of bringing the garbage to the landfill is also P800 per ton compared to the P900 per ton tipping fee at the Urdaneta sanitary landfill and the P550 per ton cost of bringing the garbage to the landfill.

 However he said he wanted to make sure that there will available funding for the specific purpose since one of the stringent conditions of the agreement is that the city government will charged additional 25 percent of the total cost once it fails to pay the tipping fee on time, thus, the request for supplemental budget with the city council.

Domogan underscored the city government is bent on finding a permanent solution for its existing solid waste problems triggered by the failed negotiations for the putting up of a foreign funded engineered sanitary landfill in Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources declared the proposed site as a protected area and part of the upper Agno River watershed basin.

           

According to him, it is better for the city to project its budget for solid waste in the 1.2 billion executive budget of the local government next year to as high as P150 million rather than locate for funds and realign the same for such purpose that could again cause another garbage crisis for the city.

           

At the same time, the city government is reviewing the proposal of an American company, Dominion Corporation, for the put up of a waste to energy facility within a 2-hectare property to be identified by the local government in order to maximize the conversion of around 200 tons of generated waste daily to around 50 kilowatts of clean energy that could be used up by government facilities.

           

 “South Korean experts will be visiting our city before the end of the year to re-assess the condition of the 2-hectare city-owned property situated at the boundary of barangays Sto. Tomas and Camp 7 whether or not it will be feasible as a site for the city’s sanitary landfill so that the local government will not be having difficulties in locating one outside the city,” Domogan said.

           

He added the city solid waste management board is evaluating proposals on how to effectively and efficiently address the city’s solid waste problems.

           

 Earlier, the city government closed its 5.2-hectare Irisan open dumpsite pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and is now hauling out its garbage to the Capas sanitary landfill in Tarlac while searching for a permanent solution to the solid waste problem that has already eaten up a huge portion of its annual budget for hauling purposes over the past several years.