MANILA – Natapos na ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ang pagpapasara sa lahat ng nag-o-operate na illegal dumpsites sa bansa.
Aabot sa 335 open dumpsites ang naipasara ng ahensya mula nang simulan ito noong 2017.
Bahagi ito ng Solid Waste Management Program ng bansa.
“Open dumpsites are those where solid waste is deposited without planning and consideration for environmental and health standards and are illegal to establish or operate, based on RA 9003,” ayon sa ahensya.
Sa ilalim ng Section 37 ng batas, ipinagbabawal ang paggamit ng open dumpsites bilang tapunan ng mga solid waste.
“No open dumps shall be established and operated, nor any practice or disposal of solid waste by any person, including LGUs, which constitutes the use of open dumps for solid waste, be allowed after the effectivity of this Act,” nakasaad sa probisyon.
Dahil sarado na ang open dumpsites, pinayuhan ng Environment department ang mga local government units na dalhin sa mga existing na sanitary landfills (SLF’s) ang kanilang mga basura.
Maaari rin daw itapon ang kanilang mga solid waste sa mga “residual containment.”
“A residual containment area is a temporary storage of their residual wastes while negotiating a Memorandum of Agreement with another LGU operating an SLF, finalizing a contract with a privately operated SLF, or awaiting operationalization of their own SLF.”
Sa kasalukuyan, mayroong 237 SLFs sa bansa, at may 11 iba pa na patuloy na ginagawa.
Ikinatuwa ni Environment Sec. Roy Cimatu ang pagtatapos ng closure sa mga open dumpsites.
“Despite the limitations brought about by the pandemic, our people never wavered in their sworn duty as public servants to get the job done,” sinabi ng kalihim.
