Authorities have shut down a sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City in Pangasinan, the latest on the intensified crackdown on dumpsites violating environmental laws.
Although not an open dumpsite, a sanitary landfill facility in Barangay Catablan, Urdaneta City was ordered closed due to environmental violations, according to Maria Dorica Naz-Hipe, director of the Environmental Management Bureau-Region 1 of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The 18,000-square meter sanitary landfill facility (SLF) was shut down after two cease and desist orders (CDO) were issued by the Urdaneta City Engineered Sanitary Landfill on March 5.
"Sanitary landfill facilities causing environmental hazards are not spared from the government’s open dumpsite crackdown nationwide," the DENR said in a statement.
Hipe said the landfill violated Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and RA 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004.
It was disclosed that a surprise inspection was conducted in the landfill on January 27.
The management was then given until February 2021 to implement the improvements, such as constructing a water treatment facility, siphoning the garbage seepage, and identifying an ideal new cell.
But the order was not followed, which led to the closure.
The closure was part of the order of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu to close all dumpsites by end of March this year. A total of 107 open dumpsites have been closed down so far, while around 169 open dumpsites are still operating across the country.