TUBA, Benguet — Local government officials here said the municipality could accommodate Baguio City – a very close neighbor whose development spills over to this town – in their plan to establish an engineered sanitary landfill (ESL).
Mayor Ignacio Rivera on Wednesday said they could help the city in solving its garbage disposal problem by accommodating its wastes in the 200-hectare property in Camp 1, Kennon Road that they are eyeing to develop as the town’s ESL.
Rivera, however, said they would first solve their own problem, which is causing them to spend PHP5.5 million a year to bring their wastes to a private ESL in Capaz, Tarlac.
Tuba, a first class municipality that partly hosts Philex Mining Corporation, operates on an annual fund of PHP145 million and the huge amount it spends to manage it causes a big dent in its budget.
Samson Paquit, Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO), said that they would still update the 10-year solid waste management plan submitted to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 2008 by next year and would include in the plan the establishment of the ESL at the 200-hectare property.
Tuba, he said, generates an average monthly waste of 80 to 100 tons with an average annual increase in generation of 10 percent. They spend PHP2,000 per ton in transport and other costs to bring their wastes to Capaz.
The town had been bringing its wastes to Region 3 since 2014.
Paquit said that in 2016, Tuba brought a total of 952 tons to Capaz. From January to November this year, they brought 762 tons with still about 12 loads which are yet to be transported. A load, he said had 18 to 20 tons.
The municipality, Paquit explained, has Barangays Tadiangan, Poblacion and Camp 6 as major sources of wastes generated from the households.
Like Baguio City, Tuba also maintains a garbage staging area in Badiwan, Marcos highway, Barangay Asin and Camp 6 in Kennon Road which are brought there using the town’s only garbage truck and later hauled out to Capaz by the Camilo Enterprises, the same contractor that transports Baguio’s garbage to Capaz.
The city, for over 10 years, has spent over PHP1 billion in transporting garbage to Capaz, which is driving the local government to push for an ESL located nearby to cut down on costs. **Pamela Mariz Geminiano/ PNA
