Binaliw landfill has next month to comply with rules

CEBU, Philippines — The Environmental Management Bureau-7 has given the operator of the landfill in Barangay Binaliw in Cebu City until next month to comply with environmental regulations or face penalty.

The EMB-7 and ARN Central Waste Management Inc., the operator of the Material Recovery Facility and engineered sanitary landfill in Binaliw, spoke during a technical conference yesterday.

EMB-7 Director William Cuñado said they have told ARN to manage the trash at the landfill properly and complete the establishment of a Material Recovery Facility by July.

"Commitment man na nila nga i-comply. If dili ma-comply, naa sila'y penalty but i-determine na nato og unsa ang wala natuman (It’s their commitment to comply. If they can’t, there is a corresponding penalty after we assess the non-compliance)," he said.

Cuñado said the barangay should issue a resolution that would certify that ARN complied with the EMB-7 recommendations.

The foul odor residents in Binaliw have complained about comes from the garbage being transported to the landfill by private haulers and EMB-7 recommended that ARN set guidelines that the haulers can follow.

"Gi-require ang ARN nga mohimo sila og guidelines, i-comply sa private haulers. Ang dili mo-comply, dili dawaton sa ARN (ARN is required to come up with guidelines for the private haulers. The haulers that won’t follow the guidelines should not be made to dump trash at the landfill)," Cuñado said.

He said EMB-7 won't stop the operation of the landfill because there are not enough grounds.

Earlier, EMB-7 issued notice to ARN for violating the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System under Presidential Decree (PD) 1586 and the conditions of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), which DENR issued on November 3, 2017, among others.

"Ngano i-stop man? Usually, ang violation naa man sa hauler, dili man sa operation (Why should we close the landfill? Most of the violations were committed by the haulers, and not necessarily by the operation)," Cuñado said.

He said EMB-7 will inspect the landfill regularly to ensure it will comply with the EMB-7 recommendations.

During inspection last week, CCENRO and the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) saw that ARN was addressing the problem of foul odor by spraying neutralizer on the trash that were dumped at the pit at the landfill before the trash is covered with soil.

ARN also wash the garbage trucks before the vehicles leave the facility.

“So far, wala mi nakita nga wala na-comply; na-comply man nila. The only thing, naka-trigger man gud ang baho… social acceptability sa barangays nga agian sa mga trucks (ARN has complied, so far… it’s social responsibility in respect to the barangay where it is located and where the haulers’ trucks pass)," Cabrera said.

She said ARN has secured an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other environmental permits.

CCENRO approved the company's accreditation for solid waste disposal after ARN secured all necessary permits.

ARN accommodated the private haulers starting March this year after the landfill in Consolacion town where Cebu City disposes of its trash closed.

"Okay ra man gyud ang management… compared sa other facilities nga puno na daan, it’s open, wala pa. They can fully manage it regularly… gani naa na sila'y system gi-place ngadto (There is no problem with management, actually. Compared to other facilities, the landfill in Binaliw is still open and they can manage it fully. They already have a system in place there)," Cabrera said.

Cabrera denied reports her office is not monitoring the landfill’s operation. She said they will be submitting an inspection report to the City Council.

"We continue on monitoring… kapila ta nibisita ngadto to monitor sa ilahang pagpadagan sa landfill (We will continue monitoring… we have visited there several times to check how they are running the landfill)," she said. —  JMO (FREEMAN)