DENR halts Rizal landfill operation

LUCENA CITY, Quezon, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), has issued a cease-and-desist order (CDO) against the operator of a sanitary landfill in Rodriguez, Rizal, following a trash slide on Friday that left one dead and two others still missing.

In a statement sent to the Inquirer on Tuesday, the DENR Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon) office said a follow-up investigation conducted on Monday uncovered several operational lapses by the private operator Green Leap Solid Waste Management Inc. (GLSWMI). Among these were erosion in the active tipping area, exposed waste emitting foul odor, and a visible crack in an adjacent waste bench that poses a risk of further collapse.

The CDO covers Phase 5 of the landfill, an area spanning about 6 hectares of the 50-hectare facility.

EMB investigators also documented multiple violations of the conditions set in the environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

“In response, EMB Calabarzon ordered the immediate cessation of all landfill operations in Phase 5, except for emergency and remedial activities, such as retrieval operations, slope stabilization, debris clearing, and installation of engineering controls to prevent further erosion,” the agency said.

A strict “no entry” policy has likewise been imposed to safeguard the public and prevent interference with ongoing rescue and rehabilitation efforts.

The EMB reported that about 420,000 cubic meters of waste eroded from the active tipping area during the Feb. 20 incident, burying three units of heavy equipment.

Of the three persons reportedly buried by the mountain of garbage, one was found dead on Sunday afternoon.

Nilo Tamoria, DENR Calabarzon director, stressed the seriousness of the situation.

“Our priority is to ensure the immediate stabilization of the site to prevent further environmental degradation and to hold the proponent strictly accountable for these operational lapses,” Tamoria said.

Tamoria stressed that the agency would not tolerate negligence endangering public safety.

House probe sought

The agency directed GLSWMI, formerly known as International Solid Waste Integrated Management Specialist Inc., to submit a detailed report within five days and to present corrective measures during a technical conference scheduled on Wednesday.

Failure to attend, the EMB warned, would be deemed a waiver of the company’s right to be heard.

The EMB said it would continue to closely monitor rehabilitation, leveling, and slope stabilization works to ensure compliance with environmental standards.

On Tuesday, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Sarah Jane Elago, Kabataan Rep. Renee Louise Co, and ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio filed a resolution in the House of Representatives seeking an investigation of the landslide collapse.

As a result of Friday’s trash slide, there are renewed calls to resort to waste incineration to remove the need for landfills, a proposal supported by Rodriguez Mayor Ronnie Evangelista.

The mayor earlier urged the national government to consider modern waste management technologies, including incineration, hence the need to amend some laws.

“We can use an incinerator. The waste can be burned, and emissions can be filtered so they are not harmful to the environment,” Evangelista said during Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.

But an environmental advocacy group warned that burning garbage to replace open dumping would pose serious health and environmental risks.

“Pollution from the incineration of garbage even by supposedly advanced technologies promoted as waste-to-energy, is highly toxic and banned under the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 (Republic Act No. 8749),” Joey Papa, president of Bangon Kalikasan Movement, told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Papa said emissions from burning municipal, biomedical, and hazardous waste release harmful pollutants, including fine particulate matter that is harmful to the eyes, lungs, and vulnerable groups, such as pregnant women.

Community-based solutions

Smoke emissions, according to Papa, may not be visible to the naked eye, “but the pollutants are there.”

“Ash residue is even more toxic,” he added.

Papa said that while burying garbage in an open dump consumes land and risks erosion that may contaminate water sources, incineration would create long-term toxic pollution.

He urged Evangelista to instead strengthen community-based waste management programs instead of pursuing incineration.

RA 8749, he said, focuses on pollution prevention and is complemented by the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 9003), which mandates waste reduction, segregation, recycling, composting, and reuse at the household and community levels.

“We create our waste. We should manage and turn this waste into a valuable resource,” Papa said. /cb