Baguio gov’t accepting land offers for garbage disposal

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city government is accepting land offers anew as site for its Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS).

            City general services officer Romeo Concio said the lot must not be less than 22 hectares and must be suitable for a partial engineered sanitary landfill (ESL) based on the provisions of Republic Act 9003 or “An Act Providing for an Ecological Solid Waste Management Program, Creating the Necessary Institutional Mechanisms and Incentives, Declaring Certain Acts Prohibited…”

         A major requirement is that the proponents or the owners of the lot must take charge of fostering social acceptability for the lot’s use as waste management facility by working out its acceptance by the policy-making body of the local government unit where the lot is situated.

            

              As required under section 40 of RA 9003, the ESL site must be “consistent with the overall land use plan of the LGU; must be accessible from major roadways or thoroughfares; should have an adequate quantity of earth cover material that is easily handled and compacted; must be chosen with regard for the sensitivities of the community's residents; must be located in an area where the landfill's operation will not detrimentally affect environmentally sensitive resources such as aquifer, groundwater reservoir or watershed area.”

The site should be “large enough to accommodate the community's wastes for a period of five years during which people must internalize the value of environmentally sound and sustainable solid waste disposal.”

Other requirements are that it will “facilitate developing a landfill that will satisfy budgetary constraints, including site development, operation for many years, closure, post-closure care and possible remediation costs; operating plans must include provisions for coordinating with recycling and resource recovery projects; designation of a separate containment area for household hazardous wastes.”

The city is considering a 22-hectare lot in a nearby town for the ISWMS but Mayor Mauricio Domogan said the city’s option is still open so that they are encouraging more offers to enable the city to select the best and most suitable location for its ISWMS.

            

              The city’s ISWMS consists of several waste management strategies intended for long-term management of the city’s wastes among which the ESL, waste-to-energy technology, Environmental Recycling System (ERS), a central material recovery facility, anaerobic digester and health care waste treatment facility.

          The city is fast-tracking its implementation of the project to achieve its target to stop hauling out wastes to Urdaneta before the end of the year.

            The mayor said the city hauls out 127 tons out of the 360-ton waste output of the city daily and the costs have been prohibitive.

            Concio, in a report to the city council, said the city spent a total of P70,996,234.58 for hauling (P25,315,152.50) and tipping (45,681,082.08) services last year.  For this year, Concio proposed P85 million also for hauling and tipping fees.