City Environment and Natural Resources Office chief Engr. Eliza Madrazo (davaotoday.com file photo)
DAVAO CITY — The city government is mulling to open two new sanitary landfills as the existing landfill located in Tugbok district is only left with two years in its lifespan.
Eliza Madrazo, chief of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) on Thursday, September 1 said they have already submitted a proposal to the City Administration Office for the construction of the landfills which will have a budget of P500-million. The amount does not include the purchase cost of the land and only covers the construction of the facilities.
She said they are still looking for possible locations of the landfills.
“We are proposing to have two landfills, one in the north and the other one in the southern part of the city,” Madrazo said. She said having two landfills will prevent the congestion of the garbage in one site.
The city’s existing 11-hectare sanitary landfill in New Carmen, Tugbok District was built during the administration of then Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The P268-million landfill has a capacity of 1.2 metric tons of residual garbage that cannot be recycled, re-used or composed. Madrazo said it only has two remaining lifespan years left due to the city’s growing population.
Davao City collects an estimate of 500 to 600 tons of garbage daily and about 10 to 15 percent of these are residual wastes.
To reduce wastes collected in the city, Madrazo said they are studying the possibility of a program to teach the public of turning garbage to crafts and other items which they can sell.
Madrazo told reporters on Wednesday, August 31 that they will hire additional personnel to teach the people in the communities to make handicrafts and other marketable materials from plastic bottles and other recyclable wastes. Madrazo said the program may be out next year. (davaotoday.com)
