City cleans garbage dump at the North Reclamation

CEBU, Philippines - Complaints against the foul odor at the North Reclamation Area near a mall and a hypermarket immediately stopped the dumping of garbage in the city-owned block 27 that was made as a temporary transfer station last Sunday.

Engineer Dionisio Gualiza, head of the Department of Public Services, said the area was not meant to be made into a transfer station but the dumping was a miscommunication with the barangays and some DPS personnel.

He explained that garbage were dumped in the area to be transported to Consolacion after they temporarily stopped using the designated transfer station in barangay Inayawan.

“Tungod man gud sa sigeng uwan, nalapok sa atong transfer station sa Inayawan. Dili kasulod ang mga sakyanan kay malubong man sila. So wala lang usa nato gipasudlan,” Gualiza said. (The station in Inayawan is deep with mud because of the rains so the vehicles could not use it.)

He said the barangays were advised to directly dump their garbage in the private landfill in Consolacion but since some of them do not have trucks to survive the rough roads going to the private landfill, they dumped the garbage in block 27.

Gualiza, however, said that it was only a few hours because they ordered the dumping to stop immediately by afternoon.

But the foul odor lingered until DPS sprayed deodorizer yesterday. Gualiza said they will continue to spray deodorizer until the foul smell disappears. He assured that the area has been cleaned as all the garbage has been transported out of the area.

As of yesterday, the transfer station is temporarily closed because the Department of Engineering and Public Works is filling the area.

He said he asked the DEPW for recommendations on how to improve the site to avoid the same problem. Gualiza said the site might be cemented phase by phase and they might add a ramp.

Barangay trucks that cannot go to Consolacion are advised to call DPS to request for a garbage truck to do the collection since there is no transfer station to utilize but the garbage has to be directly transported to the private landfill.

Mayor Michael Rama has ordered the DPS to hasten the works at the transfer station.

The designated transfer station is located in Inayawan, right after the closed Inayawan Sanitary Landfill. The city is leasing the property from the barangay captain. – (FREEMAN)