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Dumaguete City mulls use of 'exclusive' sanitary landfill

By Mary Judaline Partlow

October 5, 2017, 12:15 am

DUMAGUETE CITY-- Racing against time with the open dumpsite already “overflowing” with trash, the Dumaguete City government is now considering establishing a sanitary landfill for its exclusive use. 

The national government has already long outlawed open dumpsites with local government units (LGUs) across the country receiving closure notices from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), including Dumaguete City.

Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo announced during a meeting with barangay captains on Tuesday that the city government is considering a five-hectare lot in the city’s outskirts that could be ideal for the sanitary landfill, said City Information Officer Dems Rey Demecillo.

 Demecillo said the city’s plan to establish its own sanitary landfill came as local government units (LGUs) that had potential sites have yet to act on the proposal for a clustered facility to be shared with other nearby municipalities comprising the Metro Dumaguete.

 A Technical Working Group (TWG) had earlier visited possible sites for a clustered sanitary landfill in the municipalities of Valencia, Sibulan and Dauin, in response to public clamor against the city’s growing problem of solid waste disposal.

However, Demecillo said that the proposed clustered facility met some snags, such as problems with community acceptance, prompting the Dumaguete mayor to consider building an “exclusive” sanitary landfill only for use of the city residents.

 Demecillo said this is due to limited space which cannot accommodate trash from other towns, considering that a clustered sanitary landfill requires ten hectares contiguous while one that caters only to the needs of the city requires five hectares.

 This is a “best effort” of the mayor even though he is still open to other localities in Metro Dumaguete, Demecillo said. 

The city has already found a potential site in the outskirts barangays of Camanjac and Candauay but this is subject to the approval of the DENR, the city information officer said.

 In the meantime, the city government, through its Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) is working double time to address the problem of garbage collection and disposal.

 The city had recently acquired new garbage compactor trucks but the volume of trash at the open dumpsite in Candauay has alarmed residents, especially with piles of refuse spilling onto the road photographed and posted on social media.

 But the mayor had responded saying a bulldozer is at the dumpsite to clear the road of spillover trash. 

 Demecillo said the city government is doing its best to address at the earliest time possible the garbage problem. (PNA)

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