Acting Cenro chief Placido Jerusalem inspects the plastic wastes dumped in a private lot near the Butuanon River.
Contributed Photo/Mandaue CIO
The tons of shredded plastics found dumped in a private lot in Barangay Tingub, Mandaue City, were not garbage but components in making briquettes.
This was clarified by “Marco” (real name withheld on his request), who introduced himself to Cebu Daily News as the middleman between EnviroTech and the trucking services that hauled the tons of plastics from Pier 4 in Cebu City to Tingub.
“Dili tanan’g baho toxic (Not everything that emits foul odor is toxic). They just look like trash because they are shredded but they are not,” said Marco, adding that they only temporarily store the plastics in Tingub for three months.
A briquette is a small block of compressed matter such as sawdust and charcoal used for fuel. Marco said that the project was supposed to be presented to Mandaue City by the time it is finished.
“The purpose was only to dump it there temporarily for three months. This project is not to harm people. The consignees would not have paid millions for it if it’s trash,” Marco said.
Based on the Permit to Entry from the Bureau of Customs (BOC) 7, the cargo ship MV Christina arrived on January 21 from Seoul, South Korea, at Pier 4 in Cebu City hauling the tons of shredded plastics.
The consignees indicated in the permit were Moving Forward Global Trading Inc. and Robinland Global Trading Inc.
A staff at the BOC who declined the interview said that the consignees only had a Permit to Entry but there was no Permit to Transport.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Central Visayas (DENR-7) visited the area in Tingub to inspect the possible effects of plastic wastes to the people and the environment.
Under the law, a temporary dumpsite must only be operated within 24 hours provided that an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) has been secured from the DENR.
Cebu Daily News tried to visit the office of Robinland Global Trading Inc. along F.E. Zuellig Avenue in Mandaue City, but a security guard said that the company has already transferred to another location. The security guard did not know the specific address of their new office.
The Mandaue City Environment and Natural Resources Office (MCENRO) is still conducting an investigation as to the specific point of origin of the plastics from South Korea.
On the other hand, Mandaue City chief of staff Atty. Mae Elaine Bathan said the city government will pursue the filing of appropriate charges against EnviroTech and the rest of the parties involved in the alleged illegal dumping for violation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
“They were not able to present any proper documents and permits. If you are carrying those kinds of materials and you will be plying in a city, they should be carrying those permits. With the mayor very serious on the compliance of our environmental laws, and with the absence of any permit or legality, I believe the city will definitely be pressing charges against them,” Bathan said.