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Monday, September 20, 2004
Dumpsite sharing among towns ‘cheaper’
LONG before the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act was approved in 2001, three northern towns already expressed serious consideration in providing proper waste management for their constituents.
But plans hatched in 1999 yet by Consolacion, Liloan and Compostela, collectively known as Clic, to acquire an environment-friendly garbage disposal system that they could share has yet to materialize.
Consolacion Mayor Avelino Gungob, in an interview last Friday, said that considering the cost of landfills, estimated to be P10 million per hectare, it is ideal for local government units to just share the cost and use of the facility.
For years now, local chief executives have each taken care of garbage disposal only from within their territory, but now that pressure is on them, Avelino said they may be forced to tackle the issue as a group.
Last Friday, Avelino said he is open to the idea of putting up a landfill in his town for the use of neighboring towns and cities.
This will be an income-generating project for Consolacion, he said.
“Also, we have to unite. Kahibaw man ta nga walay kabutangan ang uban, nganong ato mang babagan? (We know that other areas have now-where to dump their trash. Why should we block them?)” he said.
The three towns were included in the list of the Department of Environment and Na-tural Resources (DENR) of towns still using dumpsites.
These will have to be closed when the law takes effect next month.
Some of the local government units already received notices to sue from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines if they fail to implement the law’s provisions.
The lack of money to buy the disposal system, a solid waste management technology that will convert all wastes into fertilizers and artificial rock aggregates, was the reason the plan did not materialize. Clic presented their proposal in a meeting years ago with donor agencies, including the United States Agency for International Development.
In a meeting in 1999, the three towns already expressed to share a common concern for garbage disposal and waste management. Had they been able to acquire the P166-million technology, they would have already been servicing nearby towns and cities as planned. JPM
(September 20, 2004 issue)
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