The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) downplayed concerns about a looming garbage crisis in Central Luzon once the contract for the Kalangitan sanitary landfill's operations in Capas, Tarlac ended.
In a statement on Monday, June 10, Delfin N. Lorenzana, BCDA chairman stated that there are three functioning facilities that could serve as viable alternatives once the sanitary landfill's contract expires.
Lorenzana said that worries about a potential garbage crisis are unfounded, as waste management facilities in Pampanga have sufficient capacity to manage the region's waste disposal needs.
“To those LGUs who use the Kalangitan [landfill], please do not worry as there are facilities where you can dispose of your garbage. There are three…We have three and a half months to arrange the transition from Kalangitan to these three facilities,” Lorenzana said.
The three facilities include the sanitary landfill operated by Eco Protect Management Corp. with a capacity of 2,500 metric tons (MT) per day, a sanitary landfill of Florida Blanca Enviro Park Project Corp. with a capacity of 3,500 MT per day, and a materials recovery facility opened by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. with a capacity of 5,000 MT per day.
“In total, the capacity is already 11,000 MT for these three facilities in Central Luzon, mostly in Pampanga. Metro Clark has an average capacity of 2,500 MT. So these three facilities are enough to service the LGUs surrounding Clark,” Lorenzana said.
The BCDA chairman also clarified that there is no provision in the contract between Clark Development Corp. (CDC) and Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC) for a renewal or extension.
According to the legal opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, the BCDA’s statutory counsel, the contract between CDC and MCWMC cannot be extended even on an ad interim basis as such extension is considered a material deviation, which would violate the Build-Operate-Transfer Law.
In the meantime, the BCDA will study and benchmark successful projects in other countries to learn how to rezone and rehabilitate landfill sites.
The BCDA is also in talks with LGUs to assist them in exploring alternative solutions to avoid disruption of waste management services.