Rizal town willing to take in Metro garbage

With the scheduled closure of all open dumps in the metropolis tomorrow, the local government of Rodriguez, Rizal has expressed willingness to take in Metro Manila’s 8,000 metric tons of daily garbage.

Rodriguez Mayor Pedro Cuerpo said his town has prepared 35 hectares of idle land to accommodate the garbage generated daily from Metro Manila’s three towns and 14 cities.

At present, Rodriguez is operating the 14-hectare Montalban Sanitary Landfill and receives garbage from several cities of the metropolis.

"We would like to assure Metro Manilans that we are ready to accommodate all the garbage at our facility should the closure of open dumps proceed under the law," Cuerpo said in a press conference yesterday.

Under the provision of Republic Act 9003, or the Solid Waste Management Act, all open and controlled dumps should be closed down on Feb. 16.

Meanwhile, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Deputy Chairman Cesar Lacuna said a garbage crisis in the metropolis is unlikely since Metro Manila has no problem finding dumps.

He pointed out that the provinces are the ones that could face problems in the future.

At present, only the provinces of Palawan and La Union have existing dumps.

As far as Metro Manila is concerned, Lacuna said they are looking for additional landfill sites to make sure there are enough standby facilities in the future. — Non Alquitran