Fresh air at Baguio trash site as it turns to eco-park

BAGUIO CITY-- The city government is starting to convert the closed 60-year-old open dump facility to an ecological park, transforming its location in Barangay Irisan to a forest park, even as folks in the area said the stench is slowly abating and they are now starting to breath whiffs of fresh air. 

 “Our initial estimate, we will be able to turn this to an eco-park by 2021 but by the rate things are going, we hope that it will already be done by the fourth quarter of 2020,” Mayor Benjamin Magalong said in a press conference at the former Irisan dumpsite, where the Environment Recycling System (ERS) or the city’s bio-composting facility is also located.

He said there is already a layout of the plan of the site, where the trash slide happened about a decade ago, converting it to a park.

Magalong said some P15 million has been allotted for the project, which was approved during the Executive-Legislative planning session earlier this week.

 “Our structural engineers are on it,” the mayor said, noting that government workers are maintaining the site's stability to prevent further erosion.

Magalong said the vision is to convert the area similar to the Mount Trashmore Park in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which used to be a dump facility but converted to a park.

“It will be fixed, cleaned and maintained and will not in any way look like a dump area. The foul smell that used to be irritating to the nostrils is also slowly being addressed with the application of an inoculant,” Magalong said.

There will be no sun-drying of compost and what will come out will be composted in sacks, ready for transport to the buyers.

Rapport Innovations, the consultant company that operates the ERS, is giving the city P3 per kilo of compost produced.

“It will not just save the city of the annual PHP18 million expense to operate the nine-year-old facility but will also earn from the sale of compost fertilizer,” Magalong said.

“We are now producing compost. The ERS is operating well after its rehabilitation. The compost we make is of good quality and is 90 percent efficient based on the study conducted by the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority," he said.

Meanwhile, City General Services Office (GSO) chief Eugene Buyucan said the park will be culturally-inspired having a “dap-ay” and will be planted with bougainvillea to create a scenic view.

There will be several flowering plants, “eugenia” tree, which has leaves that have different colors, and bamboos as an added feature to prevent soil erosion, Buyucan said.

“Bamboos have been proven (for) good soil retention, but we need to identify what species are best grown in the area,” he said.

The dap-ay is part of the region’s culture where old people meet to discuss and resolve community or tribe issues.

Once completed, Buyucan said the people in the area can enjoy a good view of the sunset in La Union while enjoying a park lined with plants and flowers.

Buyucan said at present, the city produces at least 12 tons of compost fertilizer daily from the 50 tons of biodegradable waste collected mostly at the city market.

He said the production can even go higher, especially with food waste coming in.

In June, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the closure of the ERS facility due to violations. (PNA)