ROXAS City – The provincial government of Capiz will be establishing a Provincial Solid Waste Management Eco-Park in Barangay Akbo, Sigma, Capiz and not a sanitary landfill.
Atty. Emilyn Arboleda-Depon, acting officer of the Capiz Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (CaPENRO), clarified this after several residents of Barangay Akbo recently staged a protest. They thought the plan was to build a sanitary landfill in their barangay.
“The Provincial Solid Waste Management Board has decided to construct a facility called the Provincial Solid Waste Management Eco-Park instead of a sanitary landfill. Zero waste for Capiz is our goal,” said Depon.
While Capiz towns have their respective 10-year solid waste management plans, they do not have waste disposal facilities that meet the requirements of Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act.
“It should either be an engineered sanitary landfill or an eco-park,” said Depon.
What the towns currently have are either open or controlled dumpsites. Some have eco-parks but these have limited capacities.
An open dump is a disposal area where solid wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and consideration for environmental and health standards.
On the other hand, a controlled dump refers to a disposal site at which solid waste is deposited in accordance with the minimum prescribed standards of site operation.
The Solid Waste Management Act, meanwhile, defines a sanitary landfill as a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that exerts engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts arising from the development and operation of the facility.
“The LGUs themselves ang naga-request sa probinsya nga buligan sila sa waste management,” said Depon.
She assured the public that in building the eco-park, its environmental impacts would be considered.
“We cannot build the eco-park without first securing an environmental compliance certificate. We will be guided by national government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office – Environmental Management Bureau,” Depon further stressed./PN
