Baguio City’s old dump survives rains

Neither Typhoon “Gener” nor the torrential monsoon rains have affected this city’s decommissioned dump, which toppled in August last year, leading to an environmental lawsuit against the summer capital.

Experts confirmed that runoff rainwater no longer exerts pressure on the 38-year-old mountain of garbage, so another collapse is unlikely, said Romeo Concio, chief of the city’s general services office.

The dump in Barangay (village) Irisan, which towers over a village of Tuba town in Benguet, collapsed when a strong downpour pushed garbage through the retaining wall, killing six people living nearby.

“City workers scoured the dump for loose trash, which they collected in seven bags during the week of monsoon rains, so it’s safe,” Concio said.

It took Baguio officials more than a month to remove a virtual hill of trash that littered Asin Road, as well as the area’s waterways.

The Supreme Court issued a temporary environmental protection order against the city government in December 2011, following a petition for a writ of “kalikasan” that was filed by Asin Road residents, Benguet Representative Ronald Cosalan, and the municipalities of Tuba in Benguet and Aringay in La Union.

In June, both parties agreed to file a joint motion for rendition of a consent decree before the Court of Appeals. This legal document requires Baguio to undertake a series of actions to remedy the environmental damage caused by the dump, under the supervision of the courts.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) designed a new containment wall for the dump to replace the one that gave in, using an P80-million outlay released by President Aquino.

Concio said city engineers had decided to make changes in the DPWH plan after observing that the decommissioned dump would require a much larger leachate tank. This tank would capture dissolved waste that may seep out of the facility.

The tank would transmit the liquid to a pond where it could be treated chemically, Concio said.

He said the city government also planned to increase the output of two recycling machines it bought from a Japanese firm. These machines, which use a Japanese enzyme to convert organic waste into powdered fertilizer, have been underperforming, he said. Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon