BAGUIO CITY August 03 – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan disclosed that the local government will be putting up its own temporary residual containment area (TRCA) within a portion of the 60-hectare Antamok open pit area while awaiting the establishment of the much awaited integrated solid waste disposal facility which is part of the final mine rehabilitation and development plan for the said area.
The local chief executive said the putting up of the city’s TRCA will be done simultaneous with the put up of Itogon’s TRCA within a portion of the Antamok open pit that will purposely serve as the temporary dump area for the residual waste generated in the city and the municipality.
He added, the city’s own TRCA will definitely translate to the eventual stoppage of the hauling of the city’s residual waste to the sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac within the next several months wherein sufficient savings will be realized by the local government.
“Once our TRCA will be established within a portion of the Antamok open pit area, we have to strictly implement the segregation of waste at source so that only the residual waste will be dumped in the facility so it can be used for a longer period of time. We urge our constituents to further improve the segregation of their garbage at source so that they will not suffer the consequences of their failure to abide by the garbage disposal rules,” Domogan stressed.
The local government is spending some P70 to P85 million in the hauling of the city’s residual waste from the staging area of the hauler in Longlong, Puguis, La Trinidad, Benguet to the Capas sanitary landfill in Tarlac based on the hauling cost of P932 per ton and P500 tipping fee per ton of residual waste.
According to him, the TRCA does not require the issuance of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) but it has to pass requirements which are much easier to comply with.
He admitted the realization of the city’s TRCA within a portion of the Antamok open pit area will definitely be a big help in significantly reducing the expenses of the local government for the hauling of waste.
Under the provisions of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, local governments are obliged to close the operation of their open dumpsites and establish their environmentally acceptable controlled dump facilities for the sustained preservation and protection of the environment and the health of the people.
The city was able to close the operation of its 5.2-hectare Irisan open dumpsite and opted to continue hauling its residual waste to the Capas sanitary landfill while pursuing a long-term solution to the city’s garbage problem.**By Dexter A. See
