Mayor Balgos toured Director Bambalan around the town’s sanitary landfill, leachate treatment facility and materials recovery facility (MRF). These facilities were established by the local government unit (LGU) in compliance with Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) Act of 2000.

 

To ensure the protection of public health and environment, the LGUs are mandated to be primarily responsible in the implementation of RA 9003 within their respective jurisdictions. It likewise mandates the LGUs to construct, operate and maintain waste disposal site.

 

The P65-million peso sanitary landfill (SLF) inaugurated in June 2019 is an engineered waste management facility which is the first of its kind in Region 2. The facility serves as the municipality’s final disposal site for solid and residual wastes providing a leachate management system simultaneously storing solid wastes while decomposition process takes place thus, protecting the underlying groundwater against contamination.

 

According to Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer Charles Kim C. Jimenez, the LGU established its MRF and vermi composting facility in 2011. Last year, the LGU started operating its machines for biowaste crasher, and bottle and glass pulverizer in its MRF.

 

Director Bambalan thanked the local chief executive for complying with the ESWM Act. She recommended that the area will be developed for ecotourism as a show window of the state-of-the-art facilities. “You can plant trees surrounding the area through the National Greening Program and use the treated water to irrigate the plantations,” she said.

 

The regional environment chief requested the LGU to apply for tenure instrument for occupying and utilizing forestland in the operation of the facilities. “You need to have a permit for you to be more environmentally compliant,” she said adding that the staff working in the facilities should be provided with protective gears for their safety.

 

Vice Mayor Gregorio B. Alias Jr., Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer Edgar T. Martin and Aritao Community ENR Officer Giovannie M. Magat joined in the activity.#