Firm offers to build landfill in Carmen
Barangay residents fear contamination of their spring, a water source, says village chief
A SOLID waste management firm is offering to build and operate a sanitary landfill in the town of Carmen, northern Cebu for 25 years.
Pollution Abatement Systems Specialists Inc. (PASSI) president Julito Pogoy submitted to Gov. Hilario Davide III an unsolicited proposal for a joint venture on the design, construction and management of a sanitary landfill in Barangay Dawis Sur.
Carmen, which is 38 kilometers from Cebu City, is home to Luyang River, one of Cebu’s biggest water sources, which produces 35 million liters of water daily.
In a separate interview, Captain Ranulfo Ybañez of Barangay Dawis Sur said he has no objection to the sanitary landfill in his barangay, although the proposed site is located 300 meters from their local spring.
But Ybañez said that when there is rain and it floods, the leachate from the landfill may contaminate the spring.
He said the residents in Dawis Sur may initiate moves after their fiesta on Aug. 16 to express their fears.
Ybañez said the Luyang River is 2.5 kilometers from the proposed sanitary landfill.
A Capitol technical working group (TWG) will conduct a geo-resistivity test to check possible soil and water contamination and mapping of water table in the proposed site.
In his July 13-letter to Davide, Pogoy proposed a contractual joint venture for the design, construction of a sanitary landfill in Barangay Dawis Sur, or in any other site chosen by the Provincial Government, for 25 years.
“In consideration of the joint venture, PASSI proposes a share to the Cebu Provincial Government an amount equivalent to 10 percent of the net income of PASSI tipping fee collection from the landfill operation,” read Pogoy’s letter.
Meeting
In their July 25 meeting, Jas See, PASSI marketing head, told TWG members that the firm will provide the technology, equipment, chemicals and expertise related to studies and project proposal; and design, construct, manage, operate and maintain the sanitary landfill.
If approved, Cebu Province will be responsible in clearing the site, the right-of-way acquisition and other settlement related to site development.
Jonie Montenegro, of Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) who presided over the meeting, said TWG will request the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) to conduct a geo-resistivity study on the proposed landfill site.
Public hearing
With the use of an earth resistivity meter, the test can be used in ground water exploration, to identify the composition of various earth strata, depth of each strata, detecting changes in earth composition and point to buried objects.
If approved based on geo-resistivity test result, Montenegro said TWG will recommend to Davide that the sanitary landfill project be approved.
Montenegro said that a public hearing will be held to update residents of Barangay Dawis Sur on the benefits of a sanitary landfill, like revenues it will generate through tipping fees of those who will use the landfill, and its safety measures.
During the meeting, See showed a video presentation where the usual solid wastes like wood, wires and plastics are transformed into something that can be re-used.
Scrap woods will be milled to small pieces to be made into wood boards; wires will be melt and transformed into new metal wares; and plastics will be grounded to become pellets that can be made into another plastic ware.
Once given the clearance after the public hearing, PASSI may start its operation.
The Cebu Provincial Development Council in its 2016 annual investment plan (AIP) has proposed to set aside P5 million from the local development fund for the construction of a sanitary landfill in Barangay Dawis Sur in Carmen.
Lot
The amount will be used to develop the 17-hectare-lot the Province purchased during the administration of then governor Gwen Garcia.
In an earlier interview, Davide said that he will use the budget to initially develop a hectare portion of the site.
The province-owned lot, which has been dormant for years, will be finally used for its intended purpose, he had said.
Capitol has been eyeing a public-private partnership (PPP) in building and managing a sanitary landfill.
PASSI is a pioneer in using non-burnt autoclave technology in the waste management in Cebu.
Before its contract expired last May, PASSI has managed the treatment and disposal of the provincial hospitals’ wastes and collecting the septic waste from households and other establishments. OCP