Trash crisis belittled

Even if the closure of the Payatas, Quezon City open dumpsite pushes through as planned, the garbage crisis that struck Metro Manila a few years back won’t happen again.

This was the assurance made by Montalban Mayor Pedro Cuerpo. He said that the Montalban Solid Waste Disposal Facility (MSWDF) is now fully operational, a good alternative to the Payatas open dumpsite.

An engineered sanitary landfill, the MSWDF can accommodate 6,000 metric tons of trash daily; yet at present, only about 30 percent of that capacity is being used.

The Payatas open dumpsite will be closed to all garbage save for that of Quezon City. "The trash problem has already been solved through the MSWDF. It’s now up to the local chief executives of Metro Manila and nearby cities and towns and private collectors to utilize this (MSWDF) or not," Cuerpo, who is an engineer, said.