The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Saturday that steps are being enhanced to ensure that proper waste disposal is compliant with government regulations.
With this pronouncement, the DENR aims to embark on “a greater collaboration with the sanitary landfill (SLF) operators to improve the management of solid waste in the country.’’
“We always extend a welcoming hand to those sectors willing to work with us to solve our country’s problems particularly those that concern our environment and natural resources,” said DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.
DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda stressed during a recent combined face-to-face and teleconference meeting that the SLF operators must abide by the existing environmental laws while going about their daily business process.
He asked the SLF operators to submit regular reports to the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to monitor the trash disposed by the local government units (LGUs) in their sanitary landfills.
With this, Antiporda explained that the DENR can easily detect if the LGUs are “still disposing their solid waste in open dumpsites, which is strictly prohibited under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.’’
"In this way, we will not just solve the solid waste management problem of the country but we will protect the environment for the benefit of the Filipino people," Antiporda pointed out.
The DENR noted that some 233 open dumpsites are still operating in the country with the most number of open dumpsites located in Western Visayas (48 dumpsites), Mimaropa (35), Central Visayas (27), Bicol region (23), and Davao region (20).
It added that “there are already 189 established sanitary landfills in the country’’ with the Top 5 regions with the highest number of sanitary landfills being the Calabarzon (36), Cagayan Valley (35), Ilocos region (33), Northern Mindanao (18), and Central Visayas (15).
During the meeting, Antiporda said the members of the Solid Waste Management Service Providers expressed their agreement to work more closely with the agency.
He noted that the pronouncement of the SLF operators to unite “is a big step in doing their part to take care of the environment.’’