‘Finalize landfill closure scheme’

The Cebu City Council yesterday passed a resolution asking the Solid Waste Management Board to already finalize a Solid Waste Management Plan that will serve as guide in the city’s waste management efforts.

Councilor Nida Cabrera, sponsor of the approved resolution, said the plan was required by Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Plan of 2000 and City Ordinance Nos. 2017 passed in 2004 yet.

“Initial efforts were already conducted to address the mandate enunciated in both RA 9003 and City Ordinance No. 2017, as amended, but these efforts were not adequately pursued for various reasons,” the resolution stated.

The need for a solid waste management plan was again mentioned during a public hearing the council held last Oct. 3 on a proposal by Greenergy Solutions, Inc. (GSI) to process waste at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

Ecology lawyer Gloria Ramos said a landfill closure plan including waste segregation should be prioritized over the adoption of a waste to energy technology.

RA 9003 mandates that each local government unit should have a solid waste plan that is “consistent with the National Solid Waste Management Framework.

It said the plan should detail programs for the re-use, recycling and composting of the LGU wastes.

It should also identity how the LGU should deal with wastes that cannot be re-used, recycled and composted. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac