Sun.Star: P4M sanitary landfill rises in Tacurong

TACURONG CITY, Philippines - A sanitary landfill worth P4 million has started operations recently. The landfill is the first category 2 waste disposal facility that has become functional in Mindanao. Zoilo L. Andin Jr, executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Commission, lauded the local government for its pioneering venture. The landfill was materialized with the help of the Philippine Environmental Governance Project 2, a program funded by the United State Agency for International Development. "I hope your initiative will be replicated in other parts of the country. For me, this is a model project and I will bring to your place local government officials who wish to have study tour on proper waste disposal methods," Andin said during the launching ceremony. The 6,000 square meter waste facility sits on a four-hectare property located in Barangay Upper Katungal, about four kilometers from the national highway. A sanitary landfill is an engineered garbage disposal site, which is properly designed, constructed, operated and maintained in a manner that poses the least environmental impacts. The Tacurong sanitary landfill is equipped with a materials recovery facility where recyclable wastes are classified. It also has a composting facility, a nursery and a demonstration farm which are already operational. It can accommodate 15 tons to 75 tons of garbage per day to service the populace of Tacurong City. Such capacity puts it in the Category 2 of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. In 2003, the Waste Analysis and Characterization Study conducted by the Ecogov 2 predicted that Tacurong City would generate a total of 36 tons of garbage per day in 2008. - Sun.Star