DENR eyes Davao City landfill suspension after deadly trash slide

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is planning to suspend operations at the Davao City Sanitary Landfill after a trash slide killed one person and left several others injured and missing.

In a statement on Thursday, the DENR said the landfill had violations prior to the fatal incident as the facility had been under close monitoring since January.

"[Environmental Management Bureau] XI held technical meetings with the city on January 20 and March 4, and issued a Notice of Violation on March 19 for operating without a discharge permit, failing effluent standards and maintaining an inadequate leachate treatment system," the DENR said.

A technical conference on April 29 resulted in the city committing to penalties and the submission of a pollution control program, according to the DENR.

"Earlier inspections documented steep slopes, a collapsed leachate pond and the presence of informal waste pickers and makeshift dwellings near the landfill perimeter," it added.

In light of these evaluations, the DENR has recommended slope stabilization, partial closure of certain sections, and relocation of households within the 200‑meter buffer zone.

The trash slide happened about 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday in the active disposal area of the facility in Barangay New Carmen, the DENR said.

Search and rescue teams from the Bureau of Fire Protection, 911 Urban Search and Rescue, the City Engineers Office and barangay personnel responded to the area.

Unstable ground conditions limited access to the site.

DENR Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the incident showed the urgency of completing the corrective measures.

"Every life lost is unacceptable. The DENR and the LGU have been working together on the technical and regulatory requirements for months. This incident reinforces the need to accelerate slope stabilization and the safe closure plan," Cuna said.

The landfill receives an average of 786 tons of waste per day and is nearing full capacity.

A new sanitary landfill adjacent to the existing site is at least 52% complete and the city has been diverting part of its waste through a co‑processing agreement with Geocycle‑Holcim.

Cuna said that once suspended, operations at the landfill will not resume until the site is declared safe. — VDV, GMA News