Council nod sought for landfill rehab

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office is set to submit the recommendations of Full Advantage Philippines Inc. for the rehabilitation of the controversial Inayawan landfill for the City Council’s deliberation and approval.

CCENRO head Nida Cabrera told The FREEMAN that they decided to present the recommendations presented by the private firm to help them choose the appropriate and feasible plan for the dumping facility.

Cabrera added that it is the discretion of the legislative body whether or not to approve the proposed closure and rehabilitation plan of the firm.

The Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) of the city government reviewed the outputs of FAPI earlier this month.

“Naa’y three options ilahang gi-recommend. It’s the discretion of the city to choose what is good,” Cabrera said.

The plan is to convert the landfill into eco-industrial area, sports hub, eco-park and terminals.

FAPI came up with the three recommendations after seeing that these are among the feasible projects for the dump site which has been closed for two years already.

The private firm, which is based in Manila, began assessing the situation at the landfill last April 2018, which ended October that year.

FAPI analyzed the waste depth, volume and extent of area covered, on-site waste characteristics, leachate generation and quality, groundwater and surface water quality, social aspect (wastepickers or informal sectors), gas emissions and air quality; among others.

The contract service of FAPI amounts to P2.5 million and is charged under the rehabilitation funds of the landfill, which is P55 million.

Aside from that, the city government is planning to establish waste-to-energy facility (WTE) to process the trash disposed in the landfill.

The WTE will be constructed within the three-hectare vacant lot within the Inayawan landfill compound.

Rehabilitating the landfill is the commitment of the city government to the court as well as to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) after it has been closed by the Court of Appeals last December 15, 2016. —/JMD (FREEMAN)