34 open dumps still in use in Pampanga–Report
The local governments of 20 of Pampanga’s 22 towns are maintaining 34 dumps that the law on ecological solid waste management has rendered illegal, according to the Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC).
Governor Lilia Pineda and Lormelyn Claudio, Central Luzon director of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), confirmed the MCWMC findings in separate phone interviews on Monday.
But the officials said local governments have exerted efforts to pursue solid waste management processes required by law.
The MCWMC runs a 70-hectare landfill inside the Clark Special Economic Zone in Kalangitan in Capas, Tarlac. It requires local governments to pay a tipping fee of P800 per ton of waste.
The company conducted a study on waste generation in Pampanga at the request of the EMB, according to Armando Garcia, MCWMC president, in an April 16 letter to Claudio.
“Out of the 22 local government units in Pampanga, only nine are disposing of their garbage in our sanitary landfill,” Garcia said in the letter.
“Out of the 421,264 metric tons of estimated annual waste generation of the province in 2011, only 43,057.08 MT were disposed of in the MCWMC sanitary landfill.”
The rest of the garbage being disposed of may have been illegally dumped by some towns with the cooperation of barangay captains, he said.
Local governments allegedly running dumps are Angeles City, Apalit, Arayat, Candaba, Floridablana, Guagua, Lubao, Mabalacat, Macabebe, Magalang, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, Porac, City of San Fernando, San Luis, San Simon, Sasmuan, Sta. Ana, Sta. Rita and Sto. Tomas.
In January 2011, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje ordered the closure of the dumps in Angeles, San Fernando, Arayat, Floridablanca, Guagua, Mabalacat, Macabebe, Magalang, Masantol, Mexico, Minalin, Porac, San Luis, Sasmuan, Sta. Ana and Sto. Tomas.
Garcia said the dumps have been taking in “residual municipal wastes and other wastes from private sources (that) are still being dumped illegally and surreptitiously.”
According to the MCWMC, the top waste generators in 2011 were Angeles City (58,740 MT), City of San Fernando (51,464.16 MT), Mabalacat (38,809.80 MT), Lubao (27,151.74 MT), Mexico (26,433.18 MT) and Arayat (21,842.64 MT).
Several local government officials disagreed with the findings.
Angeles City administrator Dennis Pamintuan said the Balibago dump had been closed while the facility in Cauayan contained wastes dumped there since 2005. The city government has been using a landfill in Montalban, Rizal, and has resumed the use of the landfill in Kalangitan in Capas, he said.
Rowee Freeman, City of San Fernando environment officer, said a small volume of waste is thrown in Kalangitan because the bulk has been diverted to a waste-to-energy facility that is operated by the Spectrum Blue Steel Corp. since March 1.
The waste segregation campaign has reduced residual waste by 25 percent from 130 MT in 2010 to 100 MT in 2011. The city also runs a composting facility for biodegradable wastes from two public markets.
Mabalacat has been bringing its waste to a landfill in Montalban, Mayor Marino Morales said.
To help local governments tackle their solid management disposal program, Pineda said her administration has organized a group of junkshop owners and linked them to buyers of scrap materials.
The provincial capitol has enjoined village leaders and civic groups to activate material recovery facilities that have also been clustered. It has also distributed 100 carts to scrap collectors.
“We have been trying to help manage solid waste at the village level, involving the private sector and households. This is not an easy problem but it can be solved if there is cooperation with health and environmental protection as our main aims,” Pineda said. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon
