DENR wants one sanitary landfill in each of PHL's congressional district

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources aims to put up sanitary landfills in each of the 248 congressional of the Philippines in a bid to address issues on solid waste management and achieve its “zero waste” goal.

In a press conference in Quezon City on Wednesday, Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said the DENR will push for the inclusion of some P7.2 billion of the agency’s budget for 2021.

“Sa 2021 sana maisama ‘yung pagpapatayo ng sanitary landfills sa 248 districts,” Antiporda said.

“One [sanitary landfill] per congressional district... P7.2 billion ang hindi naihabol sa 2020 [budget], hopefully sa 2021 maihabol ‘yan,” he said.

Antiporda pointed out the importance of putting up a sanitary landfill in every district because the number of waste facilities in the country is “not enough.”

But he admitted that sanitary landfills are only a band-aid solution as the desired waste-to-energy facilities are expensive.

To really address the problem on solid waste, the DENR is calling for a concerted effort among local government units, lawmakers, and the public, Antiporda said.  —Ted Cordero/LBG, GMA News