Septic haulers told to find new treatment plants

CEBU, Philippines -  Septic haulers in Cebu City were given until July 15 to find where they can dump and process their waste, but for the meantime, they can still dump at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

Landfill manager Randy Navarro said that the private septic haulers originally asked for three months but the city can no longer allow them to continue dumping their waste at the landfill any longer because it will aggravate the impact of unprocessed septage to the environment.

The septage that private haulers dump at the landfill is untreated because the landfill’s Septage Treatment Plant is not functioning.

Navarro said that the one-month extension given to private haulers must be enough for them to establish their own STP.

He said that private haulers have agreed in one of their meetings to establish their own STP, or they may jointly undertake the project.

One of the five private septic haulers operating in the city has already established his own STP in Pasil which can process one truckload per day. But Navarro said that this may not be enough since all five of them are dumping an average of 22 truckloads per day.

Navarro said that if the effluents pass the requirements of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the water may be drained to the city’s drainage system. The haulers earlier proposed to bring their waste to the treatment plant in the South Road Properties but they were denied because the plant in the SRP is only for sewage, which is 99 percent water, and it cannot accommodate the sludge.

Navarro said that establishing an STP would cost the haulers at least P1.2 million. — (FREEMAN)