3 landfills to receive QC garbage as Payatas dump remains closed

With the Payatas landfill still closed, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is sending Quezon City's garbage to three designated alternative dumpsites in Navotas and Rizal province.

In an interview with Raffy Tima on "Balitanghali" on Monday, MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said that one of the landfills is in Navotas while the other two are in Rizal—one in Rodriguez and the other in San Mateo. The three landfills have a combined capacity of 19 hectares.

Pialogo said that the three LGUs have agreed to cooperate with the MMDA.

The announcement follows a notice from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ordering the MMDA's Solid Waste Disposal and Management to stop dumping garbage in the Payatas dumpsite for the sake of the residents' health.

"Wala tayong choice sir, hindi natin pwedeng ipagamit yung Payatas landfill dahil ho delikado na yung kaligtasan ng mga residente sa paliligid ho ng Payatas," said Pialogo.

Tima also asked her if the situation in Payatas had improved since the the deadly trash landslide in 2000 that claimed several lives.

"Sir, ganun pa din po," she acknowledged. "Napakadelikado, prone po sa landslide, sumama pa ho yung panahon nung nakaraang linggo so hindi na ho talaga magandang tapunan.

"Guguho na ho 'yun, just in case ho na ipilit pa natin, so hindi na ho 'yun safe para doon sa mga residents."

Longer distances

Pialago said that transporting the garbage to landfills farther away than Payatas costs the local government more money and delays the collection and disposal of around 50 truckloads of garbage a day.

However, Pialogo said, Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada gave the MMDA permission to bring the trash to Navotas by way of Manila's pier area during the window hours of 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The MMDA admitted that the shift was only a short-term solution.

"For the meantime, landfill ho muna. Naghahanap tayo ng mas malaki, mas safe para sa mga residente sa paligid," Pialogo said.

Long-term solution

Pialogo said the agency, together with the local government of QC, is hastening efforts to bring a permanent solution to garbage disposal in the city.

"Titiyakan ho natin na within [MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim's] term ho, masosolusyonan natin iyan kaagad," she said.

Pialogo added that the MMDA is considering long-term solutions to dispose of garbage, including adapting waste-to-energy facilities.

"Basta sa ngayon ho, yung problema natin 'yung Quezon City, ang basura nila, nangangamoy na ho yung ibang mga barangay [sa Payatas], nagrereklamo na ho sila, kailangan muna na malinis natin," she said.

Pialogo also said that the agency is mandated to further look for more potential landfills, provided they are MMDA-accredited with reasonable costing.

"The cost doesn't matter, sir, what matters po [is] yung safety ng mga nandoon sa Payatas," she said.

On Friday, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista said the Payatas dumpsite may be permanently closed by December.

Bautista said the DENR issued the first notice to temporarily stop dumping garbage on the Payatas dumpsite in July due to the growing health concern of residents who live closeby. — Margaret Claire Layug/BM/KVD, GMA News