ONLY SECOND OF ITS KIND IN RP

BAYAMBANG – The establishment of the proposed 33-hectare sanitary landfill in barangay Dusoc here is almost certain now that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has adopted it as its pilot project in Region 1.

DENR Region 1 has expressed interest in the project because it will be the first sanitary landfill of its kind in the Ilocos region.

According to Mayor Leocadio de Vera, the proposed landfill will only be the second sanitary landfill to be constructed in the country. Presently being constructed is the sanitary landfill in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.

 The Waste Integrated Network Systems (WINS) based in Tarlac, has expressed interest in constructing the sanitary landfill in Bayambang.

WINS, a new company owned by the family of industrialist Eduardo Cojuangco, has proposed to construct the sanitary landfill in its own 98 hectares of land in barangay Dusoc at its full expense, requiring no counterpart fund from the local government.

     WINS said the proposed P250 million sanitary landfill can accommodate wastes from the town and adjacent areas, including possibly from the neighboring provinces of Tarlac and Nueva Ecija.

 Mayor De Vera clarified that the project in San Fernando City in La Union, which is currently under construction, is not a sanitary landfill but only an engineered landfill.

The mayor said that an engineered landfill is different from sanitary landfill pointing out that the former uses a layer of clay put into a shell and a canal would be built to drain the leachate.

On the other hand, a sanitary landfill will have clay as an inner layer, boosted by ground stones as filters, and a plastic lining as its outer layer. Through this system, it enables the leachate to flow into a tank where it will be converted into methane gas for cooking, heating and lighting.

The proposed sanitary landfill was unanimously approved by the Sangguniang Bayan last September after WINS submitted its feasibility study, including its technical designs and after conducting a series of public hearings. The resolution is now under consideration by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

De Vera also pointed out the urgency of the project since the town’s existing open dumpsite will be closed by January 2007, the final deadline set to close all dumpsites being used by all local government units in the country, in compliance with the Republic Act 9003 or the ecological solid waste management act of 2000.

According to the mayor, the town will be fined P50,000 and administrative complaints would  be filed against the town’s officials if the open dumpsite is operated beyond January 2007.

De Vera said he realizes he is staking his political leadership in the project even as he acknowledged there is an opposition to the project amid speculations about the threat of pollution to the community’s environment.

He explained that the solid waste management board of the town will oversee the operations of the sanitary landfill and can immediately step in to investigate and stop an irregularity in the operation.

He said that in addition to the operation of a sanitary landfill in lieu of an open dumpsite, the town also stands to gain financially from the project. The landfill operator will pay the town specified fees for the wastes delivered to the landfill. 

Asked if he would allow the sanitary landfill to receive wastes from other towns and provinces, De Vera said he would if the established procedure conforms to the provisions of the memorandum of agreement and RA 9003.

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