Waste program for landfill must meet gov’t standards

FUMES from incinerators will be monitored by the environment agency to determine if chemical contents are within government standards.

Amancio Dongcoy, Regional Solid Waste Management coordinator, said incineration is not totally banned in the country.

“What is banned is the process that emits toxic fumes,” he said in a forum yesterday.

He said the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 is tasked to evaluate emissions and monitor if these are within government standards.

“Tests should pass the (standards based on the) Clean Air Act,” he said.

Dongcoy was referring to the contention of environment protection advocates who are against the proposed waste-to-energy project presented to the Cebu City Government.

He was referring to the proposed Cebu City Landfill Gas and Waste-to-Energy Project that is aimed at converting 1,150 tons of wastes per day at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill to 24 megawatts of power.

Last month, Dongcoy submitted a report on the landfill, noting the “mini-dump sites” and unsegregated waste in the compound.

EMB 7 Director Fernando Quililan sent a letter to the Cebu City Government together with Dongcoy’s report.

Quililan said closure and rehabilitation work at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill are considered urgent.

He called on the government to ask the adjacent junkshops and operators of material recovery facilities to clean up and the mini-dump sites removed.

Quililan said the government should submit a rehabilitation plan for the landfill, as required by Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama ordered the landfill closed in March 2011. The facility now functions as a holding area and continues to receive segregated household garbage.

The number of these dump sites have decreased, said Dongcoy yesterday. He said there are no longer biodegradable wastes that are dumped at the landfill site.

He recommended the use of alternative waste disposal, such as converting plastic into bricks that can be used as a source of energy for kilns of cement plants.