Payatas dump survives Ondoy's fury

MANILA, Philippines - From a scene of deadly trash slide which killed 300 people in July 2002, the Payatas dump in Quezon City has withstood the fury of typhoon Ondoy, with zero casualty and no damage on infrastructure facilities of the once disaster prone area.

“Not a semblance of landslide or damage within the controlled dump facility,” retired Col. Jameel Jaymalin, chief of the Payatas Operation Group told The Star in an interview. He said the successful transformation of the dump from a scene of tragedy and shame, to become a showcase of best practices, was the major factor that mitigated the disaster that could have been triggered by Ondoy.

In his report to Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Jaymalin cited the declogging of the waterways, compaction of garbage, plants on the slope of the dumpsite and the full cooperation of the residents in the place also contributed to the disaster preparedness in the area. In fact, Jaymalin said some 350 garbage pickers helped in the cleanup operations in flood-devastated areas in the city.

“When Mayor Belmonte visited the site after the tyhooon there was no sign of flooding in the area, “ Jaymalin said. The Payatas Disposal Facility rehabilitation program of the Quezon City government, received an award from the President and the Galing Pook Foundation, highlighting the forms of recognition that it has received over the past few years

The program is pioneering. Quezon City is the first Urban Center to implement the Solid Waste Management Act. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Special Award was given to the Quezon City local government in August 2004, recognized the LGU’s “promising and innovative program in achieving environmental improvements with the conversion of the Payatas dump into a controlled facility and being the first in the country to capture methane gas from it as an alternative energy source, thus ensuring the health and safety of the community.”

The Belmonte administration’s reengineering interventions improved the garbage area’s operational efficiency, restructured, and upgraded it, resulting in savings on its operating costs, and at the same time, making the facility safer and more environment-friendly. The program is widely recognized for being a laboratory and showcase for solid waste management initiatives and a model for other local governments.