WITH the closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill, Quezon City needs at least P1.6 billion to dump the city’s trash in Manila and Rizal.
City administrator Aldrin Cuña said the disposal of at least 2,800 metric tons of trash daily from Districts 1, 3 and 4 to Vitas, Tondo, Manila, and Districts 2, 5 and 6 to Rodriguez, Rizal has entailed the city government P1.667 billion in hauling cost should the Payatas dump be shut down permanently.
“This is so because of the long turnarounds of our garbage trucks as well as an increase in the gas consumption,” he said.
The city government is spending only P780 million in hauling cost to dispose of trash in Payatas, he said.
The turnaround of a truck to and from Quezon City and Rodriguez takes about four to five hours, and a truck to and from QC and Manila takes six to eight hours.
Meanwhile, Mayor Herbert Bautista is asking Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to help him identify a new dump after the temporary closure of the Payatas sanitary landfill last July 27.
The mayor presented a status report to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources about the Payatas closure.
“The DENR will help identify the [new] area,” Ares Gutierrez, the city’s Public Affairs and Information Services Office chief, told the Manila Standard.
The city government is coordinating with the Metro Manila Development Authority, too, Gutierrez said.
Cimatu has not yet given Quezon City any commitment.
According to Gutierrez, Bautista is trying to convince the DENR chief to allow the city manage the operations of the new dump.
“He showed the secretary how the city government was able to manage the engineered landfill efficiently and effectively in a bid to bolster his request,” he said.
Right after the meeting at the DENR, Bautista, Cimatu and MMDA Chairman Danny Lim went to the Payatas landfill for an inspection, he added.
Nearing its full capacity, the dump was ordered closed due to heavy rains on July 27.
Bautista said the city has done well in taking care of the engineered landfill.
“I don’t know if they have made a comparative study of Payatas, Vitas (Tondo, Manila) and Rodriguez, Rizal. But, I think the Quezon City engineered sanitary landfill facility was managed very well compared to the other two. Moving forward by next year, if we will be allowed to dump at Vitas and Rodriguez, we are hoping that we will also be able to manage them so we can ensure that they will not reach their nearing capacity,” he said in a statement.