LLDA shuts down Cavite waste treatment plant

Industries violating environmental laws are the next targets of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) as it steps up efforts to rehabilitate Laguna Lake, the country’s largest inland body of water.

Last week, the agency shut down Azzion Recycling Solutions Inc., a recycling and waste treatment facility inside Golden Mile Business Park in Carmona town in Cavite province.

Nereus Acosta, LLDA general manager, issued the cease-and-desist order (CDO) against the company after it was found to be discharging wastes into the Carmona River, a tributary of Laguna Lake.

“We have also received complaints from residents across the Carmona River about an obnoxious smell coming from the company [premises]. Some residents claimed falling ill,” Maureen Tolentino, LLDA information officer, said in a phone interview.

Azzion Recycling Solutions specializes in the treatment of hazardous wastes, chemicals and computer scrap. It was registered in the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2010, and was accredited to transport and treat hazardous wastes by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, according to its website.

The Inquirer tried to seek comment from the company through the mobile phone listed on its website, but calls were left unanswered.

According to Tolentino, two LLDA teams monitored the company on Aug. 2 and witnessed workers disposing of wastewater through its drainage system.

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez recently said she planned to rehabilitate the 90,000-hectare Laguna Lake and turn it into an ecotourism zone as instructed by President Duterte.

The agency began demolishing illegal fish pens and other structures in the lake last week. It is now going after erring companies located around the lake and its tributaries. Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon