Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu bared on Thursday the mandates of the agency prior to the Solid Waste Management program that resulted to the closure of Payatas landfill.
“Pinasaraduhan ang Payatas dahil nakalampas na sa limitation ng capacity, that’s the reason because it was really dangerous,” Cimatu said.
The DENR Secretary mentioned that once MMDA warned him about the dangers of Payatas landfill during a heavy rain, saying, “Noong umuulan nga noon ng malakas, nagtawag sakin yung MMDA medyo delikado na, mag-landslide na ulit yung mga ano (garbage) doon.”
Cimatu also recalled the last July 2000 landslide in the same landfill, wherein around 300 people died and buried in garbage which he said that he didn’t want to happen again.
Payatas landfill was closed last month, which was requested to be extended due to the thought of dangers that might happen to the people residing near the landfill.
“Ang nangyari gusto pa sana i-extend pa yung buhay ‘non pero this time, hindi na pwede kasi magsa-suffer rin yung mga tao dyan sa ilalim, sa baba ng Payatas,” Cimatu explained.
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“Ang total 4 to 6 thousand tons a day and you can just imagine yung mga dump trucks na dumadaan dyan sa kalsada. These were going to Payatas dati nag-move na sila towards sa Rodriguez,” he said.
Unfortunately, the Rodriguez landfill, that is currently being used today, is set to reach its capacity in the estimation of around 2022.
The DENR Secretary saw that landfill will only extend its 2022 estimated target if every household will learn how to recycle their garbage, while asking them to start now.
“For several years naman, magdadagdag ulit, for the only way for us para hindi madagdagan yan is recycle. Tayo tayo na lang mag-ano (recycle) ng ating basura,” he said.
“May mga NGO kasi na very strict sa pag ano (recycle) ng basura. If we could only do that, lahat lahat tayo, sana wala na sana tayong ganito pero they would like to dispose pa rin yung mga basura nila. Ilabas lang yung basura nila sa harapan ng bahay, kukunin yung garbage. Sana hindi na ganyan in the future e,” Cimatu added.
Another alternative way that is being studied is the waste-to-energy method, which would turn the waste into little electricity and later on fertilizer, according to him.
“They have a contract with this company na sila na lang yung kukuha ng basura from the towns and dinadala nila sa machines nila, through chemical process may methane nag-generate ng electricity but after 41 days yung basura na yun maging fertilizer na. So yun ang by-product nila, nakakabigay ng little kuryente,” DENR Secretary said.
“That would be our plan to put up this kind of waste-to-energy because ito na yung trend nila e, sa other countries. Ito, pupuntahan na talaga natin yon kung hindi tayo makapag address ng problema ng solid waste,” he added. | (Tina Joyce Laceda – PTV)
