DENR orders closure of 200 open dumps by March

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu on Tuesday ordered the closure of some 200 remaining open dumps across the country by March in compliance with the country’s solid waste management law. Cimatu also called on local executives to strictly enforce the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which was signed into law 20 years ago. “Despite our significant gains, a great deal remains to be done because our volume of waste generation continues to grow,” he said during the celebration of the Zero Waste Month. “We must stop this trend,” he added. Under Republic Act No. 9003, no open dumps should be established and operated by any person or even local governments. As of 2017, at least 385 open dumps operated across the country. Benny Antiporda, environment undersecretary for solid waste management and local government concerns, called on local governments to build sanitary landfills instead. The DENR aims to build 300 more sanitary landfills by 2022. —Jhesset O. Enano