Rama signs order closing landfill

CEBU, Philippines -The 15.41-hectare Inayawan Sanitary Landfill will be finally closed tomorrow after 13 years of operation.

In an order issued by Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama yesterday, he said the closure of landfill is pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9003 otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

“The Inayawan Sanitary Landfill is hereby ordered closed to dumping of all forms of Municipal Solid Waste,” Rama said in his order to all government agencies under the city.

But Rama clarified that segregated and residual waste will still be accepted at the landfill, not for dumping but to be processed.

The mayor also instructed all barangay officials to enforce the proper disposal and segregation of garbage and to comply with the requirements of the law that includes the establishment of material recovery facility, segregation, composting and recycling in their respective localities.

“Following the closure of the landfill facility, the Department of Public Services (DPS) and all concerned city government offices are ordered to conduct remediation and perform corrective measures on the Sanitary landfill,” Rama said.

According to Rama, the city is not yet thinking of where to open a new sanitary landfill after its closure. The mayor said the city will no longer have a landfill and dumping will no longer be allowed as the city’s target will be on recycling, reuse and de-composting.

“Ang akong damgo nga wala na’y landfill. Dili na ta mangita og landfill,” Rama told reporters after the reading the order he signed yesterday.

Also yesterday, City Councilors Eduardo Rama, Nida Cabrera and Michael Ralota, barangay officials, non-government organizations and the private sector signed a memorandum of undertaking and commitment of support for the closure of landfill and the strict enforcement of RA 9003.

“We now declare our full commitment and support to the policy of the City Government of Cebu to finally close the Cebu City Sanitary Landfill, from dumping of all forms of Municipal Solid Waste, except for post segregated and or residual waste,” the undertaking read.

 The segregation should start at the household level. Only segregated biodegradable waste will be collected on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays while non-biodegradable waste will be collected during Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Rama said there are about five to six bioreactors that will be used in Inayawan, which are capable of processing over 100 tons of biodegradable waste daily while the non-biodegradable will be processed at the shredding machines.

The end product of the non-biodegradable waste, according to Rama, will be mixed with cement and other construction materials like in footpath and hollow blocks.

The landfill has already exceeded its seven-year lifespan since it was opened in 1998 and should be closed in 2005. The facility costs P208.7 million funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). —/NLQ (FREEMAN)