29 towns to dump garbage in Passi City

ILOILO – Twenty-nine municipalities will be dumping their solid waste at the 12-hectare sanitary landfill of Passi City when the facility is finally operational.

The P308-million integrated waste management facility is currently being constructed in Barangay Aglalana, Passi City.

“We hope nga makasabat ini sa problema sang aton nga mga banwa kun diin nila i-haboy ang ila basura,” said Atty. Arturo Cangrejo, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO).

The 29 local government units (LGUs) signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with Passi City on Dec. 5. These were Badiangan, Bingawan, Cabatuan, Calinog, Janiuay, Mina, Pototan, Anilao, Banate, Barotac Nuevo, Dingle, Dueñas, Dumangas, San Enrique, Ajuy, Balasan, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Carles, Concepcion, Estancia, Lemery, San Dionisio, San Rafael, Sara, Oton, Santa Barbara, Leganes, and Zarraga.

They do not have sanitary landfills mandated by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 or Republic Act 9003, said Cangrejo.

A sanitary landfill is a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering control over significant potential environment impacts arising from the development and operation of the facility.

The Pass City sanitary landfill can accommodate 200 tons to 375 tons of residual waste daily.

But there’s a “tipping fee” – P749 per ton of garbage delivered.

Among the salient points of the LGUs’ MOA were the following:

* “solid waste” means waste produced from activities within the territorial jurisdiction of the parties which include a combination of discarded household, commercial, non-hazardous institutional and industrial waste, and street litters, but shall not include hazardous waste or unacceptable waste

* the parties shall extend the necessary assistance to the City of Passi  to ensure proper waste management, including but not limited to the passage of relevant resolutions and budget appropriations ordinances, trimly issuance o necessary licenses and permits, and provisions of rights-of-way

The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 prohibits local governments from operating open or controlled dumpsites.

Open dumpsites are disposal areas wherein solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards.

The law instead mandates local governments to, among others, establish materials recovery facilities, also known as ecology centers, in every barangay or cluster of barangays to promote waste prevention and reduction in the grassroots level.

A materials recovery facility includes a solid waste transfer station or sorting station, drop-off center, a composting facility, and a recycling facility.

The Passi City Integrated Waste Management facility may be operational by the first or second quarter of 2020, he added.

Construction started in October./PN

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