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Photo Credit: DENR Twitter page
THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the closure of an open dumpsite in Limay, Bataan found to be illegally operating since 2015.
Environment Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management Benny Antiporda said they already issued a cease and desist order against the municipal government of Limay, and summoned Mayor
Lilvir Roque, Vice Mayor Robert Arvin Roque and the town councilors to explain the persistent operations of the illegal dumpsite.
“It is like a Smokey Mountain in the making. We already closed the area to stop the operations and I doubt that they will be permitted by the MGB ( Mines and Geosciences Bureau) to operate even after they rehabilitate the area. But definitely the rehabilitation must start now,” Antiporda told The Manila Times.
WATCH: The DENR and media enter the open dumpsite in Limay, Bataan.
Despite the "solid waste management processing facility" signage, the area does not have proper segregation or facilities to catch the leachate from the garbage. | @rapplerdotcom pic.twitter.com/SDN51RIX1H
— Anna Mogato (@AGAMogato) May 8, 2019
He noted that establishment and maintenance of an open dumpsite was strictly prohibited under Republic Act 9003 or the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.”
The DENR feared that various types of wastes from the open dumpsite located in Barangay San Francisco de Asis in Limay would reach the nearby body of waters, noting several connecting creeks and rivers in the area.
Antiporda said Limay entered into a memorandum of agreement with Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. based in Pampanga for the disposal of its wastes after the dumpsite was closed three years ago.
“We learned they have coordinated with Metro Clark, but it was only for a year. What we expected was that they would transfer their wastes to Clark, but unfortunately they resumed operations in the supposed-to-be closed dumpsite in Limay as it is illegal,” Antiporda added.
Source: manilatimes.net
