THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has turned down the request of Quezon City Mayor Herbert M. Bautista to allow its sanitary landfill in Payatas to reopen until the end of the year.
In a statement, the DENR cited numerous violations committed by the Quezon City government in the operation of the Payatas landfill, officially known as the Quezon City Sanitary Landfill (QCSLF).
DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones said teams from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) have cited reasons not to allow the continued operation of the QCSLF.
The EMB and MGB, both line bureaus of the DENR, conducted a joint inspection of the QCSLF on August 9, two days after DENR officials, led by Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, visited the site to determine the possibility of allowing the Quezon City government to use the landfill for two months or until the end of the year.
Violations of existing environmental laws and their respective rules and regulations were committed by the landfill’s operator, IPM Environmental Services Inc., the joint inspection team noted.
While no actual dumping of fresh garbage was seen during the inspection, “foul odor can still be perceived even with the use of deodorizer”.
“Also, the leachate from the landfill is still flowing toward the creek without undergoing treatment,” the inspection team said.
These observations merely confirmed previous findings, which prompted the EMB-NCR to order IPM on August 2 “to refrain from conducting any activity within the area” to avoid occurrences of irreparable damage to the environment and possible injury to the residents near the QCSLF caused by inclement weather conditions.
In a separate report, the MGB said the landfill was “highly susceptible to trash slide” based on its geomorphological and environmental assessments.
It added the “undercutting of garbage toe increases the risk of trash slide along the slope of the garbage dump west of Gawad Kalinga Village”.
At the same time, Leones dismissed as “not feasible” Bautista’s request to allow the use of QCSLF for two months. Leones noted as per the MGB report, the allowable area for dumping is only 1 hectare with a height of 1.5 meters and a corresponding volume of 15,000 cubic meters.
“Considering the solid waste generated by Quezon City is about 2,970 tons [or 1,247.4 cubic meters] per day and the allowed volume is 15,000 cubic meters, hence the request to allow the use of QCSLF for two months is not feasible, considering that in less than two weeks, the landfill will be fully filled up,” Leones said.
Since there is no way the Payatas landfill will resume operations, Leones advised the Quezon City government to instead pursue intensifying its implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, particularly on the promotion of the so-called 3Rs in solid waste management—reduce, reuse and recycle.
Leones said residuals can still be ecologically managed by transforming them into useful products and even as source of income.
“The application of available alternative ecological technologies and the crafting and robust implementation of ordinances that promote waste avoidance and reduction should be seriously pursued,” he said. Meanwhile, Leones said the DENR has already directed IPM to refrain from dumping solid waste within the QCSLF and begin its rehabilitation of the landfill as soon as possible.
IPM was ordered to immediately submit its detailed Safe Closure and Rehabilitation Plan, which will be evaluated and approved by the EMB-NCR and the National Solid Waste Management Commission.