20 families evacuated from Payatas dumpsite

The Quezon City government has evacuated at least 20 familties living near a portion of the Payatas dumpsite to protect them from possible landslides in the area.

Jameel Jaymalin, chief of the Payatas Operation Group, said Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has ordered the temporary evacuation of the affected families after a portion of the dumpsite showed signs of a possible landslide due to heavy rains that hit the area in the last few days.

“We are just taking precautionary measures in preparation for more rains,” Jaymalin told The STAR.

He said they are now addressing the drainage problem that triggered soil erosion at the site but added that the problem is confined to a 1,000-square meter area and not does not affect a nearby controlled facility, which houses the biogas emission reduction project, that has been tapped for electricity generation.

Aside from transforming the former dumpsite into a model solid waste disposal facility, the city government also pioneered the utilization of methane gas from the dumpsite for the production of electricity.

In 2004, the city government inaugurated the 100-kilowatt methane gas-to-energy power plant, the first such power plant in the Philippines.

This year, the city government is pioneering the commercial utilization of dumpsite gas for power generation. – Perseus Echeminada