MMDA chief still searching for Metro garbage dump

Wanted: Any local government unit within 150 kilometer radius of Metro Manila with a piece of property around 2,000 hectares in size. Must be interested in becoming an industrial zone. Potential revenue: P2 billion annually.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is inviting qualified LGUs to make offers to finally end the agency’s quest for a host to its waste processing facility.

MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando has decided to let the LGUs come to him with their offers after his futile courtship of Candelaria and Tiaong towns in Quezon.

Fernando gave up on his bid for Quezon following strong opposition from the Church and non-government organizations.

The campaign in Quezon lasted for seven months but there were no takers as the pressure from opposition groups proved to be too much for the MMDA.

This time around, Fernando said it would be better for LGUs to come to him with an offer rather than the other way around.

"By incorporating the best technology for a sanitary landfill and at the same time assuring the LGU as well as the local constituents of business opportunities and employment like any other industrial zone," Fernando said.

He stressed that garbage should not be treated as waste but a raw material for industrial processing.

He said that factories that process recyclables would be set up around the waste facility to handle the volume of materials that will be coming from more than 6,000 tons of daily garbage from Metro Manila alone.

The host LGU, along with its neighbors, will also benefit by having a waste disposal facility for their garbage.

However, Fernando said an important condition in the offer is the accessibility by train.

"This is necessary so that the cost of transport can be lowered so that the dumpsite can be placed in an area far away from the population," Fernando said.

The proposed project will provide Metro Manila with a long-term solution to its waste management problem.

With the closure of the Carmona and San Mateo landfills as well as the Payatas dump in Quezon City more than three years ago, Metro Manila has been left with no concrete solution to its garbage disposal woes.

The MMDA is currently utilizing the Rodriguez, Rizal and Navotas controlled dump to handle Metro Manila’s garbage but these facilities are only good for a couple of years.

The proposed project, on the other hand, will have a lifespan of 25 years.

Meanwhile, Fernando clarified the recent report that the MMDA has supposedly given up on its search for a landfill and that the LGUs should come up with their own facilities.

Fernando noted that Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye was probably misunderstood when he issued a statement regarding the garbage issue.

He reiterated that the provision of a landfill for Metro Manila is still the responsibility of the MMDA.

The responsibility of the LGUs, on the other hand, is on the collection of garbage from its constituents.