The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has moved a step closer to achieving its aim of having enough sanitary landfills (SLFs) to address the country’s garbage situation.
This, after Benny Antiporda, the undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns, invited on Friday, Feb.26 representatives from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to a key meeting with SLF operators.
Antiporda said DBP presented to the SLF operators their "Green Financing Program", which provides financing assistance to strategic sectors, industries and local government units (LGUs) in adopting environment-friendly processes and technologies.
"DBP showed willingness to extend financial assistance to SLF operators," the DENR said in a Facebook post, which featured pictures of the meeting.
Antiporda said earlier this month that it's the agency's dream to establish 300 SLFs--a key tool in its all-out battle against garbage--all over the country.
He reckoned that the path to achieving this is through a public-private partnership involving the DENR, LGUs, and SLFs.
"As the Alternate Chair of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, USec Antiporda wants to create an avenue where we see the DENR and the private sector collaborate towards the betterment of our environment and natural resources," the DENR said.