A privately owned sanitary landfill in Norzagaray, Bulacan, one of the few alternative dumpsites for Metro Manila’s trash, is being harassed and prevented from taking in more garbage, which may lead to a greater environmental crisis for the metropolis.
Arthur Legaspi, president of Waste Custodian Management, the firm that runs the 18-hectare San Mateo landfill, said Friday a private security team has prohibited their garbage trucks and their clients’ haulers from traversing a barangay road leading to their site in Sitio Tiyakad, Barangay San Mateo.
This “harassment” started on Sept. 15, Legaspi said.
A government agency, which Legaspi didn’t identify, is also claiming a three-hectare portion of the landfill, which surprised Wacuman management as it has all the necessary permits since opening the facility in 2007.
“We are very alarmed by this situation. Our papers, land titles, permit, and other requirements are all legal and complete. We have been operating our business smoothly and efficiently,” Legaspi said.
“We were caught by surprise why all of a sudden, we were deemed illegal owners of the land where we have operated our landfill business for years,” he added.
Wacuman has already filed the necessary complaints with the proper authorities, Legaspi said, but added he is alarmed by the fact that soon, the garbage crisis will be felt especially by residents of Bulacan.
Provincial and local government officials could not be reached for comment at presstime.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has closed down the nearby Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City, which has been Metro Manila’s main trash bin for decades.
The agency is also dealing with reports of solid waste being thrown directly into Manila Bay when garbage can no longer be accommodated at the Vitas Marine Loading Station at Pier 18 in Tondo, Manila for transport elsewhere.
“This is not only a localized problem, as part of a functioning community is a reliable and efficient garbage collection system,” Legaspi said. “We are calling our proper authorities to act on this matter immediately. We have all the necessary documents and we have been continuously victimized by this form of harassment.”
In 2008, former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed Presidential Proclamation No. 1655, which declared the San Mateo landfill as an alternative waste disposal facility for the municipalities and cities of Bulacan, Metro Manila, and nearby areas.
Wacuman, as the landowner and landfill operator, was granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate with a Category 4 by the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR, the year before that.
The DENR and the National Solid Waste Management Commission have monitored the San Mateo landfill to ensure safe and proper waste handling and management, the firm noted.
“When we started our business, we have made safety our utmost priority. Through the years, our facility was able to augment the lack of suitable and proper landfills in the country,” Legaspi said. “We have delivered our services efficiently and for almost a decade, we have not encountered any problems.”
The firm has reached out to the provincial government of Bulacan to help resolve the issue, he said. But if no action will be done by the proper authorities, Legaspi said the company fears their “land-grab problem” may turn into a garbage crisis “that will affect not only the residents of Bulacan but also other cities in Metro Manila.”