Tuesday, October 21, 2008 CH asks expert to control odor By Linette C. Ramos Sun.Star Staff Reporter
EXPERTS in dump site management and odor control are being consulted by Cebu City Hall to eliminate the stench at the Inayawan sanitary landfill which has reached some parts of the South Road Properties (SRP).
City Councilor Augustus Pe Jr., deputy mayor for the landfill, said they have invited the manufacturer of a deodorizer that the City intends to purchase to control the stench to visit Inayawan.
As they find other ways to address the problem, City Administrator Francisco Fernandez said the City will eventually turn over the management and operations of the landfill to a private firm.
The contract for the management will include a proviso that will require the private firm to eliminate the stench completely and to convert garbage to energy.
“We will let go of the maintenance and operation of the landfill and turn it over to a private firm. In that case, the City will just assume regulatory functions, to see to it that they are managing it well according to prescribed guidelines and procedures on waste management,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
Pe, who was in Ligao City, Albay recently to find out how the local government has managed the odor problem of its dump site, said the City intends to apply the same measures at the Inayawan facility.
“We will use some chemicals and deodorizers to neutralize the chemicals emitted by the garbage and the leachate from the wastes. For now, we will just cover the garbage with aggregates,” he said.
The councilor said representatives of the manufacturer will visit the City later this week to recommend the dosage of the chemicals for the landfill.
Spraying
Department of Public Services (DPS) Chief Dionisio Gualiza said they are also waiting for the bids and awards committee (BAC) to approve the purchase of some P400,000 worth of chemicals to be applied to garbage at the source.
He said that spraying the garbage with chemicals even before they are transported to the landfill helps eliminate the odor.
Gualiza added they are still faced with the problem on the shortage of filling materials to be used at the landfill, that is why they are appealing to Cebu City residents to dump their aggregates at the designated site at the SRP.
“Ang pinakabaho gyud ani kay ang mga basura gikan sa mga merkado. At source daan, ato na nang spray-han aron ig abot sa landfill, gamay na lang ang baho. Inig tabon ana ug filling materials, mawala ra gyud ang baho ana (The odor comes from market waste. We will spray chemicals at the garbage before they are transported to the landfill. The filling materials will also help control the spread of the odor),” he said.
Pe said the purchase of filling materials is still being processed, and was delayed because it took them a while to identify fund sources.
The stench from the landfill reportedly had some officials of Bigfoot Global Solutions complaining because the odor reached their entertainment complex beside Pond A at the SRP.
It also upset mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña, from his hospital bed, instructed Fernandez just hours before his surgery last Wednesday to address the problem immediately.
(October 21, 2008 issue) Write letter to the editor.Click here. Fernandez said three private firms are expected to join the bidding when the City publishes the invitation to bid for the management of the sanitary landfill anytime soon. (LCR)
