Mayor Assures no Open Waste in ESL Site
VOL. XVIII NO. 3 (October 25-31, 2014)
BAGUIO CITY – the fifty hectare area within the one hundred thirty nine hectare city property in Santo Tomas eyed to house the city’s first Integrated Solid Waste Management System (ISWMS) has been identified.
This was revealed by Mayor Mauricio Domogan during the Weekly Ugnayan Presser Wednesday where the city is now undertaking to take the planning stage.
Domogan said, “the 50-hectare area is free from congestion and a single house is within its vicinity.”
The city is planning to develop the ISWMS incorporating modern technology to address waste concerns.
The ISWMS will be patterned with the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) of Hesperia City, California which city officials visited this year.
The technology incorporates waste recovery thru segregation, recycling and conversion to electricity.
It can be recalled that the Santo Tomas area has been approved as the site for a sanitary landfill for the city way back in 2009 by City Resolution Number 78.
The area was part of five possible sites for an engineered sanitary landfill evaluated and recommended by a monitoring committee.
Domogan however stressed, “there would be no open dumping of waste at the site as it in contrary to Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste management Act.”
“We have to change our perception of waste disposal, there are more advanced, environmentally friendly and cleaner ways to address our garbage,” he said.
Domogan said, “the waste facility will have the capability of separating biodegradable from non-biodegradable waste, recyclables, wet and dry and other forms of wastes.”
A separate technology will also be added to address hospital wastes.
The city government and local barangay officials in the community has agreed to open the lines of communication and conduct series of consultations especially in areas which may be affected by the project.
Modern technologies being eyed as component of the solid waste facility are a central materials recovery facility (MRF); environmental recycling system (ERS) facility; engineered sanitary landfill (ESL); waste to energy (WTE); and health care waste treatment plant (HCWTP).
Presently, an evaluation will be conducted by a composite team to know how much would be the cost of site development including the widening and concreting of its road network and if there are other locations which can be developed with lower costs./By: Paul Rillorta
