AN OFFICIAL of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 said Mandaue City’s dumpsite in Barangay Umapad is still being used, contrary to claims of Mayor Jonas Cortes.

“Based on my technical experience and based on the law, the Umapad dumpsite is still open and the Solid Waste Management Act has not been fully implemented in Mandaue,” said DENR Director for Solid Waste Management Amancio Dongcoy.

In an inspection last July 14, Dongcoy found that tons of biodegradable waste are still being dumped in the Umapad dumpsite.

He noted, though, that the area used as a dump site is smaller.

Cortes, for his part, admitted the closure last June 5 was only partial because the City does not have an alternative dumpsite.

He said only residual waste are being dumped there.

“Ako pa sa DENR motabang sila namo inay nga magsigi ug panaway (The DENR should be helping instead of criticizing us.) We want everybody to invest for our future,” he said, adding that the full closure of the dumpsite will depend on when the City Council approves the month-old recommendation of the City Development Council (CDC) to appropriate P33 million for the conversion of the dumpsite into an eco-park.

Following Cortes’ announcement to close the dumpsite last June, barangays put up material recovery facilities (MRF) and required households to segregate their trash.

But Dongcoy said the City should have submitted to the DENR a closure plan, which the agency will review before its implementation. He said he explained this during a
workshop with local government officials in 2007.

Mandaue’s dumpsite is critical because a portion of it becomes submerged during a high tide. He said it should have been enclosed with a dike to prevent seawater from reaching it.

Dongcoy said he attended the closure of the dumpsite last June 5, but when he visited the place a month later, he noticed there are still segregated trash and a portion of the area has pile of biodegradable waste.

He said an open dumpsite, if closed, must be covered with clay to prevent rainwater from seeping in.

GI pipes should also be installed as vents, to allow toxic gases, such as methane, to come out.

Cortes intends to develop a lagoon and a pocket forest as part of the plan to convert the 9.2-hectare dumpsite to an eco-park with the P33 million the CDC has asked from the City Council.

However, he lamented that, until now, the legislative office whose majority members are his political rivals has not acted on the request.

“This is a man-made calamity,” he said of the City Council’s failure to approve the appropriation.

Dongcoy is also alarmed by the claim of Councilor Toben Andaya that the MRFs in some barangays have become mini-dumpsites, but he assured to help the City find a solution to the situation.

“The situation in the barangays could be a result of the lack of preparedness because of the sudden closure of the Umapad dumpsite. Other barangays were not ready for the closure,” he said.