BAGUIO CITY – 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 put 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 put up of 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, especially in the funds earmarked for the hauling of garbage to Tarlac.
“Once out 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 that the area could be used for a longer period of time. We urge our constituents to further improve the disposal 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 85 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 tons of residual waste dumped in the facility.
According to him, the put up of a TRCA does not require the issuance of the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) but it has to pass stringent requirements which are much easier to comply compared to the requirements of an ECC.
He admitted the realization of the city’s TRCA within a portion of the Antamok open pit area will definitely a big help in significantly reducing the expenses of the local government in the hauling of waste outside the city.
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 with the proposed put up of the integrated solid waste disposal facility either in the 139-hectare city-owned property in Sto. Tomas School Area or the Antamok open pit site in Itogon, Benguet.
By Dexter A. See
