Proposals to transform landfill presented

Proposals to transform the Inayawan landfill have been submitted as its rehabilitation starts.
CDN FILE PHOTO

A RECREATIONAL park, a solar-panel farm, and a terminal for public utility vehicles (PUVs).

These are just some of the proposals presented by a private consultancy firm before officers of the city government to transform the controversial Inayawan Sanitary Landfill in Barangay Inayawan, Cebu City, which was ordered closed by the court.

Ma. Nida Cabrera, chief of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), said these proposals formed part of the outcome of a study conducted on the landfill to determine appropriate actions for its post-closure rehabilitation plan.

The city hired a private consultancy firm, Full Advantage Philippines, to do the study, at a cost of over P2 million which includes assessing and analyzing the characteristics of the over 1 million tons of garbage stored in the 12-hectare landfill.
Data gathering began in April.

Last May, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the ruling of the Court of Appeals’ (CA) Special 19th Division made in 2016 to permanently close the Inayawan landfill.

The High Court also reiterated the appellate court’s mandate for the city government to start implementing its post-closure rehabilitation plan.

But Cabrera said the proposals presented yesterday before the Solid Waste Management Board are not yet final and official.

She said they will have to present these to Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, and submit to the City Council for approval.

“What they presented is only a draft. They will be coming up with a final report in the coming days,” said Cabrera.

“We will schedule a meeting with Mayor Osmeña next week. And this needs to be passed before the council before we can submit them to EMB (Environmental Management Bureau),” she added.

Cabrera also said researchers found out that establishing a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility can be a possible alternative to reuse the Inayawan landfill once its rehabilitation is completed.

“Putting up a WTE facility is a potential. A three-hectare lot within the landfill’s compound was not used to dump garbage and we’re eyeing to put the WTE facility there,” said Cabrera.

Cabrera also said they needed the recommendation and approval of the CA and the EMB before proceeding with the WTE facility.