Bulacan local governments still not complying with eco-waste law

MALOLOS CITY — A number of local governments in Bulacan may soon find themselves facing charges for failing to comply with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act 9003).

In fact, Nelson Gorospe, head of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), told The STAR that no local government in the province has complied yet with the law.

Based on RA 9003, Gorospe said all open dumpsites in the country should have been converted into controlled dumps in 2004, and all controlled dumps, in turn, should have been developed into sanitary landfills last February.

In Bulacan, dumpsites in 21 towns and two component cities are either closed or still in controlled or semi-controlled status.

"This is a big problem," Gorospe said, noting that Bulacan generates an estimated 1,432.65 cubic meters of garbage every day.

The City of San Jose del Monte tops the list with 190 cubic meters of wastes per day due to its high population density.

However, San Jose del Monte is one of the few local governments in Bulacan with 14 operational material recovery facilities (MRFs) and 22 others still under construction.

Guiguinto town, for its part, has two operational MRFs and two others still being put up. It shut down its dumpsites two years ago and encouraged households to engage in composting.

Malolos City and the towns of Marilao and San Rafael also have operational MRFs with ecology centers, while MRFs in the other municipalities are still in the construction or planning stage.

Gorospe said open dumpsites such as the ones in Calumpit, Hagonoy, Paombong, Bustos, San Ildefonso, Angat and Pandi towns seriously threaten the environment.

He said they are currently coordinating with the different local governments to fast-track their action plans, which include the closure of open dumpsites and setting up of MRFs.

Gorospe said local governments cannot just shut down their open dumpsites since they are required to submit safe closure programs.

So far, he said a number of towns, including Hagonoy, have submitted their closure plans to the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Pampanga.

Provincial environmental officials said waste management is also a primary concern of barangay officials who should promote waste segregation at the household level. — Dino Balabo