Council studies work plan for Sto. Tomas trash site

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The city council will scrutinize terms of reference for development of the city’s engineered sanitary landfill in the body’s session on April 6.

Mayor Mauricio Domogan submitted the TOR for council approval after the same was approved by city solid waste management board last December.

The city is eyeing its 130-hectare property reserved for the public need at Mt. Sto. Tomas here as site  of garbage facility.

Other strategies intended for long-term management of the city’s wastes include waste-to-energy technology, central material recovery facility, anaerobic digester and health care waste treatment facility and environmental recycling system (ERS) machines.

A feasibility study on the ISWMS is being conducted by the technical working group co-chaired by city planning and development officer Evelyn Cayat and general services officer Romeo Concio.

The city is fasttracking implementation of the project to achieve its target to stop hauling out wastes to Pangasinan and Tarlac the soonest possible time.

 The city is contracting out the hauling of 127 tons out of the 360-ton waste output of the city daily requiring a huge budget of more or less P100 million in a year.

The council committee on laws recommended an open discussion of the terms in the presence of the members of the CSWMB which the mayor chairs.

The TOR provides for a design and build scheme for the construction of a two-hectare ESL that can accommodate 150,000 tons of compacted solid wastes with an approved contract of P80 million. 

The TOR provides guidelines, standards and criteria to be applied in designing an ESL consisting of liner, leachate collection and treatment systems.

Work will involve “developing the most cost-effective design concept to address environmental impact mitigative requirements and developing final designs with final design drawings, construction details, cross-sections, final quantities, costs, technical specifications, tender documents, operating manuals and health and safety plans.”

The detailed engineering design services to be provided are field investigation as part of site investigation and confirmation studies; development of the landfill’s detailed process design considering all design parameters and requirements; site development work design to include site preparation, parking, roads, erosion control, sanitary, water supply and fire protection systems and others; quantity and cost estimates for all works and pay items for each component of the design; and tender and contract documents. 

The construction of an ESL is one of the strategies of the city’s Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) to address the city’s waste problem.