Belmonte orders check on market wastewater disposal

Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has ordered a closer look into wastewater disposal practices of markets in the city to determine which establishments are not complying with sanitation and environment protection laws.

Belmonte issued instructions to the city’s market development and administration department (MDAD) after he was informed that only three markets in Quezon City have a waterwaste treatment system while 17 others use septic tanks for wastewater disposal.

MDAD assistant head Noel Soliven identified the Farmers Market in Cubao and two slaughterhouses, one in Kamuning and another in Novaliches, as the only market establishments with a treatment system.

In his report, Soliven also said that those using septic tanks are Cloverleaf Market, Gaiety, Oriental, Super Palengke, Tierra Pura, Susano, Nepa-Q Mart, Mega-Q Mart, Nova Plaza, CI Old Market, CI New Market, Don Manuel, E-Market, ES-EM Market, Bonifacio and Tandang Sora.

Belmonte said the MDAD should check on wastewater disposal at all markets in the city because some establishments may not be really using septic tanks.

Soliven also reported that the MDAD has finalized action plans on market sanitation problems.

He said the MDAD will conduct seminars on wastewater treatment and the conversion of chicken feathers into animal feeds, coordinate with the Association of Private Markets and Slaughterhouses of Quezon City, and organize joint evaluation teams for annual inspections.