Public opinion of the current waste management problem in Candau-ay has influenced sanitary landfill siting initiated by the City government of Dumaguete through its Technical Working Group commissioned to prepare the safe Closure Plan of the existing dumpsite and conduct ocular inspection and assessments to candidate sites for the establishment of a sanitary landfill.
Since Aug. 11, the TWG was able to conduct quick assessments during its ocular inspection to six candidate sites for the SLF: Malaunay, Valencia on Aug. 11; Balili, San Antonio, Sibulan on Sept.11; Sulodpan, Bacong on Sept. 14; Tunga-tunga, Dauin on Sept. 19; Calabnugan, Sibulan, and Napakao, Siaton on Sept. 26.
Obtaining the support of politicians and communities around the proposed landfill sites is key to the successful establishment and operation of sanitary landfill facilities. One common complaint from local communities concerns unpleasant smells emitted from waste disposal facilities.
The worldwide community acknowledges that solid waste management is a big issue that demands thoughtful and sincere attention. More so in our country.
The Philippines’ competitive pursuit for economic growth has led to the manufacture, distribution and use of many products which resulted to the creation of wastes contributing to environmental debasement and intensified the adverse effects of climate change.
Along with the country’s economic progress, the rapid growth in population has also made waste management a huge environmental challenge for our country.
In Dumaguete, increasing population is one of the key factors that led to the miserable situation in the city’s Candau-ay dump site. With 80 tons of garbage being dumped daily, the waste disposal future of our city looks bleak. Unless, something has been done about it.
That is why the search for an excellent sanitary land fill initiated by the city government has been ongoing and seriously pursued to mitigate, if not totally eradicate, the unfavorable and harmful consequences of a fully-loaded dump site.
However, the search for the ideal SLF has a major obstacle — not so many people understand what it is and how it can help the community. This lack of understanding resulted to a negative mindset among community residents who belong to localities that have been considered as good sites for the installation of an SLF.
Here are a few insights about what a sanitary land fill is and how this can lessen our problems about garbage.
A sanitary landfill is a carefully engineered method for the ultimate disposal of solid wastes. It is a pit with a protected bottom where trash is buried in layers, compacted (pressed down to make it more solid), and covered.
A sanitary landfill is a “method of disposing of refuse on land without creating nuisances or hazards to public health or safety, by utilizing the principles of engineering to confine the refuse to the smallest practical area, to reduce it to the smallest practical volume, and to cover it with a layer of earth at the conclusion of each day’s operation, or at such more frequent intervals as may be necessary.” (American Society of Civil Engineers). Therefore, a true sanitary landfill is not an open dump.
Advantages
Cost-efficiency. While resource recovery and incineration both require extensive investments in infrastructure, and material recovery also requires extensive manpower to maintain, landfills have fewer fixed or ongoing costs;
Landfill gas can be upgraded to natural gas (landfill gas utilization), a potential revenue stream;
There is a specific location for disposal that can be monitored and where waste can be processed that will remove all recyclable materials before tipping;
On completion of the landfill, it can be used as parks.
After inspecting the 6 candidate sites, I realized there is a strong need to educate the people as many of them are against making their locality a garbage dumping area. We should urge local government units, the Province, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Department of Education, colleges and universities, cooperatives, religious organizations, civic clubs, and other civil society organizations to help in conducting information drives about the positive impact of a sanitary landfill because garbage problem is a common concern.
Public and private individuals, groups and organizations, educators, parents and teachers associations, the print, TV, broadcast, and social media must be seriously and deeply involved on this sanitary landfill education program for the communities. Their efforts are necessary in order to cope with the increasingly complex problems associated with garbage.
I was pondering, what will happen if nobody will agree to making their locality the site for an SLF? We should ask everyone to extend a hand and help in disseminating valuable information most especially the LGUs as they are mandated by law (RA 9003) to put up a sanitary landfill since 2006 yet.
So far, in Negros Oriental, Bayawan City is the only locality with an established SLF. People should visit Bayawan and see it for themselves. The site is very clean, and after its daily dumping, it is immediately covered by soil. The engineering design is perfect, drainage system is admirable, the leachate pond is even protected by a high density polyethelene plastic liner to avoid seepage that could contaminate the ground water.
In Dumaguete, the present garbage situation is problematic. Aside from the fact that wastes are already mounting, these wastes emit a profusely stinking odor which is hazardous to the health of those who are living in nearby areas.
I believe that as long as the SLF siting requirements provided under Section 1 of the National Solid Waste Management Commission Res. No. 64 have been complied with, there will be no problem at all in its installation, operations and management.
There are four critical elements in a safe and secure landfill — a bottom liner, a leachate collection system, a cover, and the natural hydrogeologic setting.
The sanitary landfill disposal site shall:
Be easily accessible in any kind of weather to all vehicles expected to use it.
Safeguard against water pollution originating from the disposed solid waste.
Safeguard against uncontrolled gas movement originating from the disposed solid waste.
Have an adequate quantity of earth cover material that is easily workable, compactible, free of large objects that would hinder compaction.
Conform to land use planning of the concerned areas.
The garbage issue is not just the problem of the Candau-ay residents or just the concern of Dumaguetnons. This is an issue that all of us residing in this province should be aware of and should be seriously thinking of what we can do as a people.
Let us not maintain the “to each his own” mentality. We should never think that as long as we are not directly affected, it is OK. Let us all remember that everything in this universe is interconnected. What affects one creature, can affect another. If we are not going to move now, our future and the future of our children will definitely be full of garbage.
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Author’s email: wea_129@yahoo.com
