LANDFILLS

SOMETHING SMELLS

Carmen Rosello

In the 1980s, Smokey Mountain immortalized the moral and physical decay of society, highlighted extreme poverty and the degree of disparity in ownership of wealth and resources, and painted utter hopelessness in the country among a great number of people striving to earn a bitter living from the filth and dirt of other people. It symbolized the indignity of the destitute and hungry and showcased the wide disparity in living standards among Filipinos not only in Metro Manila but more so in the provinces. 

In today’s newspapers, we time and again hear about Barangay Felisa. This is where our Mayor and his councilors agreed to put up a controlled sanitary landfill to solve Bacolod’s ever increasing problem on solid waste management. City officials have assured Bacoleños that the proposed sanitary landfill will address the city’s waste disposal and that precautions have been in place to protect its residents in the nearby surroundings and preserve its ecosystems. The move paves the way for concrete measures for the city to comply with local environment statutes requiring government units to close open dumpsites by 2010. Also, public and private sectors of society are required to segregate their garbage, recycle, and only residual wastes will be collected by the city (the 3Rs - Reduce, Recycle and Re-Use). 

What makes the sanitary landfill different? Engineered sanitary landfills, as opposed to garbage dumps, employ a number of precautions to ensure both the safety of residents in the surrounding areas and the conservation of nearby ecosystems. They have liner systems to protect the groundwater from leachate, as well as a waste water treatment facility to collect and treat the leachate until it is clean enough to be reintroduced into flowing water systems like rivers or the sea. 

A sanitary landfill is a site where waste is isolated from the environment until it becomes SAFE! Waste is spread in layers on a piece of property, usually on marginal or sub marginal land, making them compact then covered with layers of soil. The landfill is lined or sealed with rubberized material that will prevent contamination by leachates spreading downward through the geological formation. 

There are four criteria that are necessary to set up a sanitary landfill. 

* Full or partial hydro geological ( study of water movement in rock) isolation: if a site cannot be located on land which naturally contains leachate (liquid waste in landfill) security, additional lining materials should be brought to the site to reduce leakage from the base of the site and help reduce contamination of groundwater and surrounding soil. If a liner - soil or synthetic - is provided without a system of leachate collection, all leachate will eventually reach the surrounding environment. Leachate collection and treatment must be stressed as a basic requirement. 

* Formal engineering preparations: designs should be developed from local geological and hydro-geological investigations. A waste disposal plan and a final restoration plan should also be developed. 

* Permanent control: trained staff should be based at the landfill to supervise site preparation and construction, the depositing of waste and the regular operation and maintenance. * Planned waste emplacement and covering: waste should be spread in layers and compacted. A small working area which is covered daily helps make the waste less accessible to pests and vermin. 

Residents in Barangay Felisa have reasons to decry our city officials’ move to locate the dumpsite in their neighborhood. Despite assurances that standards have been in place with engineered treatment facilities, chemical agents will be used to rid possible water and air contaminants from toxic organic wastes, and a buffer zone of trees will be built around the dumpsite, local residents and environmentalists have remained pragmatic. Studies made on sanitary landfills show that deadly toxins - petro chemicals, methane, hydrogen sulfide, carbon monoxide and other non-methane organic chemicals like benzene, trichloroethyline and vinyl chloride - end up seeping into the air and adversely affecting people living nearby. At a minimum, exposure to air contaminants cause asthma, breathing problems, nausea and headaches. Chronic exposure over the years may cause depression and nosebleeds, impair motor skills, impairment of the brain, balance and moods. 

Landfills have also been found to be producing deadly organic solvents and heavy metals produced from leachate even 15 years after site closure. Despite the presence of water treatment facilities, the underground water in areas near landfills remains to be threatened by the same organic by-products that are supposed to be hazard free. In fact, a study in the US shows that landfills in California that have been technically closed for 20 years still generating methane, which is also one of the greatest single contributor to global warming. Scientists also reveal that methane has a 30% higher warming effect than carbon dioxide (thus, landfills contribute more to Global Warming than preventing it). 

But advocates of sanitary landfills think otherwise. Then we throw these questions back at them. How sure are you that the environment is finally safe if we use them? Knowing the degree of inconsistencies and the poor quality of projects and engineering techniques being employed by the public sector in our country, I’m pretty sure environmental contamination from landfills will remain a serious problem in protecting our waterways, underground aquifiers, drainage systems, and farm irrigation infrastructure. It doesn’t take a genius to compare quality standards in our public sector with the rest of Asia - just look at the crater-filled roads and uneven highways costing taxpayers billions of pesos.

Basically, we should not be too confident with the sanitary landfill promise to immediately solve the city’s solid waste management problem. I am sure that negative things are bound to come out with the environment and to the people living near the site. Operations will also be a headache in maintenance, quality management and daily operations with the basic notion that waste management especially segregation remains a middle class household concern and educating slum dwellers about throwing one’s trash properly a gargantuan task. 

We hear stories that BAHA is just a bunch of self centered people, concerned only with issues that serve their needs. But how mistaken they are. The issues on flood, what causes floods and how to solve this mess are everyone’s concern. Experts say that landfills take in only 30 to 40% of the irrecoverable solid waste materials. This means that the rest of the trash (some 60-70% of it) can be controlled by ordinary citizens like you and me.*

POLITICAL DECEIT

SOMETHING SMELLS!

By Jose Ma. S. Jalandoni

As a rejoinder to my previous article, Political Apathy, I would like to emphasize the fact, all too well known, that many of our political incumbents always manage to twist the real score and change it altogether in their favor... to the detriment of the truth! This is why we hear the adage - politics is dirty. Today, politics in our city is extremely soiled, and for me, should be redefined. The way our local government has run the affairs of our city and our own attitudes towards all the allegations hurled at them need to be checked. 

It seems that our Mayor has one mantra in mind as he is quick to respond to most of the negative issues brought to his attention- that there is politics behind. This seems to be a catch all, no need to explain, you will understand what he insinuates phrase. And here the danger lies. We accept the answer and don’t bother to pursue the critical points that he ultimately fails to reveal. What exactly does he mean? That the flooding problem so dramatically delivered to him and the City’s councilors during the Caravan organized by the Bacolod Anti Baha Alliance (BAHA) last November 2007, had politics behind? Were we not scared last year when the waters rose at the dead of night and threatened lives? Several earlier attempts to bring the dangerous state of the drainage systems and waterways in our city were left unheeded. It was only after the caravan of 2007 that the Mayor moved. I keep reminding people about this. We have very short memories. 

In the most recent issue involving Brgy. Felisa, we detected a similar situation of political deception. Three years have passed since the residents allowed the city to dump our entire city’s garbage in their area in a Controlled Dumpsite. They have pictures to prove that this was what was agreed on with the city officials. It took only a few months that what was promised was reneged on. Brgy. Felisa’s dumpsite is, to this date, an open dumpsite, which is illegal. 

The BAHA group is getting into the nerves of Mayor Leonardia because he now realizes that there are people who are on to his maneuverings. It’s as simple as that. He has severed ties with the group. 

For four months, the group has sat with the local government in the Flood mitigating committee under the City Disaster coordinating council. The committee addresses key problems in the city - Flood control, housing and relocation, and solid waste management. In the last meeting held in October, the BAHA presented to the body the problem of the dumpsite. Footage of the dumpsite, the illegal burning of garbage in the area, the leaching of the garbage juice into the river hugging the dumpsite, the water source and Baciwa wells near the dumpsite- these were highlighted during that meeting. The move of the city to ram into the human barricade put up by the Brgy. Felisa residents one Sunday shocked the BAHA group prompting them to write the Mayor and demand an apology. What was done in Felisa was illegal, and downright immoral. Political deceit, pure and all too real.*

BACOLOD ANTI BAHA ALLIANCE

November 12, 2007

Dear Citizens of Bacolod,

We, the Bacolod Anti BAHA Alliance (BAHA), a non-political citizen’s group, urged by the increasing threat to our lives, health and property, brought about by the worsening flooding in the City of Bacolod, are inviting you to join the alliance. We have come together to impel our city officials and national government to once and for all utilize all resources and laws at their disposal to solve the flooding problem in Bacolod City.

As a apolitical citizen’s movement, we shall pursue our mission in the spirit of:

Solidarity
Openness and dialogue
Commitment and perseverance
Seriousness of purpose
Respectfulness of our differences

It is our objective to indertake any and all necessary and appropriate action to move Bacolod City Officials and National Agencies to STOP THE FLOODING IN BACOLOD CITY NOW!

We hope you will join us and act now by endorsing and signing the BAHA manifesto.

Thank you.


Jean Trebol
Agnes Jalandoni
Convenors

MANIFESTO

We, the Bacolod Anti-BAHA Alliance (BAHA), hereby manifest that:

We have patiently borne and carried through the years the havoc wrought upon our lives by the flooding in the city, where even the shortest heavy rains or the rising of the tide results in the inundation of entire sections of the city: stalling vehicles, destroying homes and dwellings, dislocating families, destroying properties, spreading disease and filth: in short… endangering our very lives.

We have, as good citizens, patiently sought audience with and implored our pertinent government officials and agencies to seek expeditious solutions to the flooding problem, and offered our assistance.

We have seen the slow and painstaking process by which government has responded to our plight, our pleas and call for action.

We have waited for reports and responses from our government and public officials, listened to their explanations, attended their meetings, and monitored what they were doing.

The waiting has been long, far too long… and we have therefore come to the following conclusions:

FIRST, while heavy rains are part of the natural order of things, our severe flooding problem is the result of our government’s longstanding inaction and negligence to implement a comprehensive flood control program with provisions for sufficient drainage systems, clearing our waterways of illegal structures by relocating dwellings built thereon, periodic dredging of known choke points, and serious enforcement of environmental and solid waste management laws.

SECOND, there appears to be a culture of passing the buck and blame-shifting between our local government officials and the national agencies, such that nothing of significance has been accomplished.

And THIRD, it seems that our worsening plight is of no serious import to our local government officials and national agencies, and may be the last of their priorities.

WE HAVE THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT, while we are willing to do all we can to help find a definitive solution to our flooding problem, WE CAN NO LONGER WAIT, NOR FURTHER ENDURE THIS CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER TO OUR SAFETY, OUR HEALTH, OUR LIVELIHOOD AND OUR VERY LIVES.

THEREFORE, we hereby resolve to:

- confront this problem head-on with all the willpower and resources vested upon us as sovereign citizens of the land;

- scan and study all pertinent laws, rules and regulations and locate responsibility, and hold to account those who are officially liable for such responsibility;

- take all necessary action in pursuit of our goal, accepting no excuses, tolerating no blame-shifting, condoning no political posturings or token actuations which are, as experience shows, nothing but useless, fruitless, cosmetic activities that neither prevent nor abate flooding.

We call on all citizens who are similarly aggrieved and endangered to come and join us.

Since this blight, this menace of relentless flooding has invaded our livelihood, our very homes and imperiled our lives… we will deliver our calibrated and concerted response right at the doorstep of those who should answer for or be held responsible for this unmitigated danger that has befallen our city.

God help us!

FELLOW CITIZENS, LET US UNITE!

BACOLOD ANTI BAHA ALLIANCE COUNCIL

JEAN TREBOL

NORMAN CAMPOS

AGNES JALANDONI 

GINA PICCIO 

ALFONSO GAMBOA

ALAN GENSOLI 

ELSIE COSCOLLUELA

MERLE SEVERINO

MAGGIE JALANDONI

BETSY COSCOLLUELA

MARGOT LOPEZ

TERESITA LIZARES

EDGAR SARONA

DIONISIO DE LA CRUZ

FRANKLIN VILLANUEVA

BOY CUENCA

PATRICK CUENCA

SALLY LEDESMA

RENE HINOJALES

MARLENE SOLIVEN

BOY TORRE

CAYEEN GASTON

BOYET UYCHIAT

BUTCH LOPEZ

BOB BERGANTE

MA. TERESA JAVELLANA

NENA ROSELLO

ANNA BALCELLS

MAITE ELORDI

CRISTINA LAMATA

GIGI CAMPOS

ERNESTO PICCIO

MA-E JALANDONI 

TINA MONFORT

CLAUDE SCHLUZE 

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE GREEN

SOMETHING SMELLS 

By Tina M. Monfort

Ah, the holidays... everything seems a little bit shinier, brighter and — trashier? There are lots of ways everyone can do to reduce waste and recycle more this Christmas season. It will be a busy period for all of us, but making your Christmas GREEN need not be a chore. 

Here’s how: 

MUST TIP! Keep your reusable bags with you all the time. 

* Treat someone to an “experience present” such as fitness/wellness coupons for the gym (perfect for shedding off those extra pounds gained from all the holiday eats), yoga or the spa; driving lesson or just a trip to a concert or the beauty salon. These are very personal gifts and don’t come surrounded by stacks of packaging! 

* If you must buy Christmas presents, keep an eye out for recycled and reusable products or gifts that promote lifestyle changes friendly to the environment (i.e. reusable bags, biodegradable and organic items) 

* Be practical as well as thoughtful and creative. Purchase gifts that are long-lasting or that can be reused and later recycled. Avoid “gag gifts” - they quickly become trash. 

* Buy living gifts like house plants, garden seeds or potted trees that can be transplanted. Oh so good for the environment! 

* Bake or cook for someone you love 12 days before Christmas - one dish for each day or for anyone you know who would appreciate the help. Make sure to put them in reusable food containers. 

* Buy rechargeable batteries for electronic presents. 

* Teach children the value of charity. Arrange a trip to the orphanage where they can donate their ‘old’ toys, books and clothes. 

* Prevent card waste by sending e-cards to friends and family. If you receive paper cards, don’t forget to recycle them. Cut the picture side of the card off and reuse it as a postcard next Christmas. Nice! 

* Make your own gift wrap from brown paper bags, newspaper, colored comic pages or old maps. These can look GREAT! Try some raffia twine bows or paper ribbons. 

* Make lovely, reusable gift sacks from cloth material you have lying around. Fold material in half and sew up one bottom and the other side leaving the top open or simply use a bandana cloth which can simply be washed and reused. 

* If you are buying new wrapping paper, think before you buy - heavily foiled, glittery papers and foil bows and ribbons can’t be recycled, so avoid these. Look out for recycled wrapping paper. Decorate with something fresh from your garden. 

REMEMBER: Paper can’t be recycled if it still has sticky tape on. 

With Christmas day just around the corner, food comes to mind as well. Here are some GREEN tips to remember: 

* When buying your fruits and vegetables, buy them “nude” (without the packaging). This helps you buy only what you need and reduces the amount of packaging in your bin. 

* Compost all your fruit and vegetable peelings and leftovers. You will have enough to make your garden bloom. 

* Buy drinks in large bottles rather than lots of smaller ones. 

* For gatherings - at home, in school or in the office, use cloth napkins, silverware, glass drinking cups and ceramic coffee mugs, and reusable plates rather than disposable plastic dinnerware, cups, and plastic products. 

And lastly, make a New Years resolution to recycle more things, more often! Hope shines! 

December 5 : Eco-friendly Gift Suggestions.*

Anti-BAHA Alliance SWM Education Drive

Kicks off at Vista Alegre

By Carla N. Canet

The Bacolod Anti-BAHA Alliance launched its Solid Waste Management education campaign in Vista Alegre yesterday as part of its advocacy for a clean, green and floodless Bacolod.

Vista Alegre Punong Barangay Jose Antonio Gensoli, purok and youth leaders welcomed the Alliance in its effort to help improve the solid waste management of Bacolod City.

Mrs. Jean Trebol, Agnes Jalandoni, Alan Gensoli and some members of the Alliance went out of their way to help in the education campaign.

Jalandoni said the Solid Waste Management group in the Mitigating Committee was requested to help in the education campaign and Alan Gensoli chose Vista Alegre as the pilot barangay for the education campaign.

If this will succeed in Vista Alegre, this can be replicated in other barangays, she said.

Jalandoni said that it's time to share to others about proper waste disposal and how it can be converted into money out of segregating the non-biodegradable from bio-degradable materials.

"We need to teach people how important are their contribution to this effort. We have to know how much garbage we dispose everyday. We all know that we contribute why our canals and surroundings get dirty because others are not doing their share. We have to educate ourselves on proper waste disposal.  We should not throw our garbage carelessly. We should not use plastics; we need to recycle bottles and cans so that only residual waste is left for proper disposal," she said.

She added that if she can do it, she must share it to her neighbors and fellow Bacolodnons so that the effort could mushroom.

 

"Literally, it has to start uphill. And then hopefully it can be replicated. We have to help one another in changing our attitude towards garbage. It's difficult but it is possible," she said.

In other foreign countries, people are educated and disciplined in proper garbage disposal. Other Filipinos who worked overseas also adopted such practice. Their streets are clean because people follow the rules.

Punong Barangay Gensoli said that solid waste management is a priority program in his barangay.

He said that Vista Alegre has many rivers. The river in Villa Angela started to get dirty because garbage and plastics are being thrown there. The garbage collection was done once every month or two and now it was done once every two weeks. This is because some residents just asked somebody to throw their garbage and they just pay and unfortunately, it is being thrown directly to the rivers.

He told his Purok Presidents to prohibit dwellers within the 50 meter distance from the river.

"I thanked that the Anti-BAHA Alliance is here so that they could help educate our people regarding Solid Waste Management. First time we met, they asked me about the first step that they will do and I told them, it's in the education of the people about solid waste management," he said.

He planned to make Vista Alegre as the model barangay for all the 61 barangay in terms of cleanliness. There is a Clean and Green competition for the barangays and the evaluation started this month until next month.

He said that he does not need the competition because he sees to it that their barangay is always clean. "They can come here anytime and they will see how clean our roads are."

Since he became the Punong Barangay, garbage segregation is his priority and that includes Abada-Escay resettlement area. "We will educate the people in Abada Escay because the dwellers there came from the 36 different barangays in the city and these people don't care about proper waste disposal. If you are looking for mountainous garbage, go to Abada Escay," he said.

He also instructed the barangay tanods to make rounds at night because there are private vehicles with garbage in it which they just throw their garbage in Abada Escay.

Moreover, Mr. Alan Gensoli said that the city government has allocated P3 million SWM budget, divided in all the 61 barangays with computation or formula which is based on area times population. They used a population Census of 2000 wherein Abada-Escay was not yet around.

Now the population of Abada Escay has increased by 7,500. Other barangays received the same amount as if these 7,500 people are still there in their barangays.

According to Councilor Greg Gasataya, the new SWM budget will take effect in 2010.

Their situation in the Abada Escay is very difficult because it has no proper utilities like power, water and drainage. People were just transferred there even if it lacks preparation of the site.

Even the Gawad Kalinga in the Abada Escay also lacks these basic utilities.

"We need to educate the people because of health and ecology. Ecology is a

Greek word which means home. If we clean our home, why can't we clean our ecology which is also a home?" he asked.

He added that based on the RA 9003, City Ordinance 310, and solid waste management is the responsibility of the barangays. We need to segregate at source The Material recovery facility must be in the barangay level so that the city will just collect the residual waste and it should be placed in a sanitary land fill. However the city has not yet started in its educational campaign.

The implementing agencies are DENR and National Solid waste management commission. Under NSWC Resolution 9, they categorize on how many volumes of garbage are being disposed in your locality. Bacolod City is under category 4 because it has more than 200 tons of garbage a day and it needs to have a sanitary land fill with a treatment pond.

According to the law, by February 16, 2004, the open dumpsite should be converted into a controlled dumpsite. But by Feb. 16, 2006, all controlled dumpsites should be closed. February 17, 2006 the use of sanitary land fill should start, "We are more than 2 years and a half delayed, that alone is against the law. The government is liable for that under the law. Government swore to protect and preserve the integrity of the law. But here we are, just ignoring the law."

He said that the 7 hectare property which the city bought from Lopez is just beside the existing dump site and in two months from now, it will be fully filled up. "Do you think we could make a sanitary land fill immediately? It takes a year to do it. We need to teach our people to segregate so that the volumes of garbage could be reduced tremendously. There is so much money which can be made out of the trash. I have seen no reason why we will not segregate.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Trebol they conducted a waste characterization in Vista Alegre to determine what kind of waste they generate and from there they can determine what kind of material recovery facility they will need.

After this, they will conduct a two day seminar, which is going to be more intensive for the SWM group which they will create.

Alan Gensoli chose Vista Alegre because the success factor is high. The Punong Barangay and the Council are very eager to implement SWM.

She said that it's not easy to change people's attitude towards garbage. But if the city shows that they mean business, it will be easy. It has to start from them. We are just here to help and show them the examples and hopefully it will be successful. And if it is, it can be something that everyone can follow. We want to show to all that's its doable."*(CNC)

EATING YOUR OWN TRASH

SOMETHING SMELLS!

By Gigi M. Campos

Sounds gross but this may be a reality that will happen if we remain indifferent what is happening around us. 

Stories have started surfacing again more recently, now that environmental issues are taking the forefront. Are there really ‘continents’, or massive floating garbage patches residing in the Pacific Ocean? I did some research on this and discovered that this garbage island exists and has been growing tenfold each decade since the 1950’s, and this garbage patch consists of 80% plastic. Unfortunately the rumors are true, and these unsightly patches are reportedly killing marine life at an alarming rate and releasing poisons that enter the human food chain, as well. 

Yes, studies have confirmed a little-known island continent of floating toxic plastic garbage, TWICE the size of Texas, growing in the Pacific between California and Hawaii. Officially known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, yet U.S. officials will continue to ignore it. The trash collects in this remote area, known as the North Pacific Gyre, due to a clockwise trade wind that encircles the Pacific Rim. This sounds pretty close to home since our 7,107 islands are bounded by the South China Sea on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. Ocean currents have collected massive amounts of garbage into a sort of plastic “soup” where countless bits of discarded plastic float intertwined just beneath the surface. Indeed, the human race has really made its mark. 

But if there is an unfathomably massive collection of plastic junk out there, we wonder why still not too many know about it, and why isn’t anyone doing something about it? Several reasons. First, no one is keen to claim responsibility for these monstrosities, which exists in one of the most remote spots on the planet. It’s easier to ignore this reality than to deal with it, at least in the short term. 

Reminds us of our own situation in this city of smiles or should we say ‘city of smells.’ Look around you because there are still many small open dumpsites littering our once green and clean city. Not to mention the huge dumpsite in Barangay Felisa the city continues to use as an open dumpsite. RA 9003 also known as the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 has provided that all open dumpsites such as the Felisa Open Dumpsite should cease to exist by February 2004, and all controlled dumpsites by February 2006. Yet there was no compliance, no planning. It seems easier for our city officials to ignore these problems in the hope that we the residents of this city will someday learn to live with these monstrosities. 

Now back to the island of plastic... Most of the plastic is floating just below the surface where explorers, researchers, and scientists can get a good close-up view, but it is nearly impossible to see the massive quantities of submerged trash in photographs taken from great distances. Clean up seems nearly impossible at this point. According to environmentalists, trash in the ocean accumulates the same way bubbles clump at the center of a hot tub. The garbage is just too much, and the ocean is just too large. The island of plastic is made up of things like furniture, fridges, plastic containers, cigarette lighters, plastic bottles, light globes, televisions and fishing nets. And sad to say this polluted, chemical filled junk is finding it’s way onto our dining tables. Trash, particularly non-degradable plastic, floats in the ocean where it chokes and kills fish and other wildlife. Plastic crumbles into tiny particles, which are consumed by fish and other sea life creating unhealthy ecosystems. Plastic is a transport medium for toxic pollutants. Looks like we will eventually be eating our own trash if nothing is done about this problem real quick. 

While parts of our oceans have now become inhospitable soups of plastic and plankton, we can at least mitigate the future consequences by making smart individual choices. 

In my past columns I wrote about garbage and the negative effects of plastics. Our group, the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance, through this column, will continue to sound the alarm on the dangers of the unrelenting use of plastics and the wanton disposal of garbage particularly in waterways and creeks. Here are some ways we can help to limit this ever-growing patch of garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean: 

1. Limit our use of plastics when possible. Plastic does not easily degrade and can kill sea life. 

2. Use a reusable bag when shopping. Throwaway bags can easily blow into the ocean. 

3. Take our trash with us when we leave the beach. 

In the words of Gaylord Nelson, a co-founder of Earth Day, “The ultimate test of man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.” 

For more information on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch you may watch videos of this on the internet in YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7rNYzSH-BA 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9oSikW3eUM&NR=1