DENR to order shut down of waste recovery facility in Baguio

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has ordered the temporary closure of the Irisan Waste Recovery Facility in Baguio City for its supposed failure to properly implement the local government's segregation program.

"We will be coming up with a temporary CDO (cease and desist order) subject 'yan doon sa kanilang magiging explanation. 'Yung mga tao din sa paligid naaapektuhan 'yan eh," DENR Undersecretary and Spokesman Benny Antiporda said in a Balitanghali report by Chino Gaston on Thursday.

The report said more than four tons of biodegradable waste are being disposed in the said facility on a daily basis.

The DENR assured the public that the closure of the facility would not result in a garbage crisis in the country's summer capital.

The agency said waste could instead be dumped in nearby provinces.

For instance, around 160 tons of non-biodegradable waste of the city are being dumped in Tuba, Benguet before they are taken out of the Cordillera Region.

Officials of the agency are set to meet with local government executives to create a more concrete rehabilitation plan for Baguio City. — Anna Felicia Bajo/MDM, GMA News