BAGUIO CITY – The city’s temporary transfer station at the Baguio Dairy Farm could become a model transfer station in the country once all the necessary amenities of the facility shall have been put in place by the local government, an official of the Cordillera office of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB-CAR) said here recently.
EMB-CAR regional director Reynaldo S. Digamo said the local government has been fully compliant to the imposed terms and conditions for the temporary operation of its staging area as per close monitoring conducted by the agency’s assigned personnel.
He explained that the facility could become a model once the chute wherein the city’s garbage trucks will directly transfer the collected residual waste to the hauler’s trucks will be operational and the pavement of the facility will be concreted to prevent the muddy situation in the area once it rains.
“We believe the local government is doing everything possible to comply with the prescribed terms and conditions while it is finalizing its options for the identification of the permanent site of its integrated solid waste facility in the Antamok open pit area that will effectively and efficiently address its garbage disposal problem,” Digamo stressed.
The EMB-CAR official claimed the presence of garbage in the area is because of the fact that the turnaround of the city’s garbage trucks is shorter compared to the turnaround time of the hauler’s trucks bringing the city’s residual waste to the Urdaneta sanitary landfill.
However, he pointed out that based on their monitoring, the garbage in the area does not exist there for over 24 hours as earlier stipulated in the conditions imposed for the operation of the facility because the trucks of the hauler immediately haul out the residual waste being brought to the facility within the agreed period.
According to him, the operation of the chute will guarantee the full compliance of the local government to the no touch ground policy because it will be the city’s garbage trucks that will be dumping the collected residual waste to the hauler’s trucks situated below it.
Further, Dgamo disclosed that one truck of the hauler could handle the garbage coming from three garbage trucks that collect the residual waste from the different pick up points in the city’s 128 barangays during the scheduled collection days and time.
He added that it was also recommended by the monitoring team that the Tuba municipal government assign a personnel who will be part of the team to strictly monitor the compliance of the local government to the prescribed conditions for the temporary operation of the facility, thus, the agency is awaiting the recommendation of Tuba Mayor Ignacio Rivera on the personnel to be assigned as a member of the monitoring team in the area.
Digamo stated the local government is doing its best to find a suitable site for the establishment of its proposed integrated solid waste disposal facility considering the inadequate land area available in the city for the said purpose, thus, the agency is extending the necessary assistance for the identification of the area and the processing of the pertinent permits and clearances relative thereto.
Earlier, the agriculture department allowed the local government to use a 1-hectare portion of the Baguio Dairy Farm for the operation of its temporary staging area for the hauling of its residual waste outside the city. By Dexter A. See
