Social marketing mulled to sweep “landfill foes”

WANTING to help sanitize the dirtied talks about the Metro Tagbilaran Cluster Sanitary landfill, cluster members are now mulling a social marketing team that will help scrub the issue clean from host Alburquerque and Mayor Efren Tungol's sleeves. In an interview with Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO), Fe Tandugon said the move was molded after the Provincial Ecological Solid Waste Management Technical Working Group met a few days ago to clean the issues that has littered after the sudden vocal opposition popped up in host town Alburquerque. Oppositors of the cluster landfill have so far been very effective in voicing out the popular “not in my back yard (NIMBY) advocacy. They have alleged that the plan was mulled without consultation and that their town would never be used as a dumpsite for the refuse that comes from more than ten town cluster members.

This stand comes even with the BEMO claim that the bulk of refuse that goes to the cluster sanitary landfill constitute only the a small portion of the garbage from the towns. The cluster has earlier agreed on garbage segregation at source, which in their consultations have revealed to significantly reduce the garbage for the Alburquerque facility. BEMO data however show that as early as 2002, Bohol has asked for a technical assistance from Eco governance on the ESWM peaking in the signing of a memorandum of agreement with ten towns of Alburquerque, Corella, Cortes, Baclayon, Tagbilaran, Dauis, Panglao, Loon and Maribojoc. In the same year, the landfill site has been identified based on its geophysical considerations.

Landfill oppositors have also made it clear that their oppositions comes only after the towns in the metro Tagbilaran cluster share in filling their facility, ananalogous move to dirtying the environment in Barangay Dangay, the site of the mulled sanitary facility. Environmental consultants preparing the Albur feasibility study said the option for Dangay came after careful consideration of the clay constitution of the landfill site, the idea site to contain the facility seepages.

The decision to form a cluster came after the Republic Act 9003, the ecological solid waste management act transfers to the local government units the implementation and enforcement of the provisions of the new law. Section 33 of the law mandates consolidated efforts by local government units efforts, resources and services to address common garbage disposal issues including establishment of common disposal facilities. The law also specifies that the solid waste as used does not entail hazardous and infectious wastes, laboratory wastes and mining tailings. Section 37 has provided for the measure to close all open dumpsites while converting them into sanitary landfills by 2006.

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