P-Noy lauds Urdaneta City’s state-of the art engineered sanitary landfill

URDANETA CITY, April 8 – Though many people are allergic to the name sanitary landfill, this infrastructure is possible, said President Benigno Aquino III when he inaugurated the first engineered sanitary landfill in Pangasinan and only the second of its kind in Region 1.

Aquino lauded the city government of Urdaneta for building its own sanitary landfill at its own initiative in order to accommodate the 20-ton compacted garbage of the city and another 20-ton compacted garbage from other cities and towns.
The project, which is the city’s response to the requirement of Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act, was started by former Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. in 2010, which was continued by his son, Mayor Amadeo Perez IV.
Funded from P220 million obtained by the city from the Land Bank of the Philippines, the project is located on an 18-hectare property of the city in Sitio Calegu. Barangay Catablan, near the Sta. Barbara and Mapandan towns.
The whole sanitary landfill site includes the original six-hectare old open dumpsite of the city which was already closed and an additional adjacent 12-hectare lot bought by the city.
The city government explained that the P220 million construction cost included the infrastructure support acquisition of additional lots and the construction of an access road leading to the site.
Initially, the sanitary landfill covers just a total area of six hectares yet with a total volume capacity sufficient to accommodate Urdaneta’s solid waste for the next 10 to 12 years.
The other areas within the site are set to utilized when the initial six hectare structure is filled up.
President Aquino said that Urdaneta City, led by its Mayor Amadeo Perez IV, proved that the construction of an engineered sanitary landfill is possible, though other LGUs are lukewarm to building it due to their wrong notion that anything that involves garbage is dirty.
The project, the President said, also amply showed that local government units like Urdaneta can reap the benefits of modernization without endangering their environment and the health of their people.
“That is why, I salute Mayor Perez for responding to the needs of his constituents and also to those in other localities like Baguio and Dagupan cities, Mapandan, Sta. Barbara and Pozorrubio who are also set to be benefited,” he said.
He was informed that Urdaneta City can derive so much income from the landfill by charging other LGUs dumping their solid wastes in its engineered sanitary landfill.
The state-of the art project consists of an impermeable HDPE (high density polyethelene) liner over compacted clay, two lawyers of geosynthetic membrane, gravel filter layer, HDPE leachate collection and transfer piping system, pumping station, leachate treatment pond, weighbridge with support truck scale house, wheel wash facility, storm pond to control silt migration, groundwater monitoring wells and an administrative building with an appropriate parking area.
President Aquino lauded the project which is vital in carrying out a program to prevent pollution and cushion the effects of climate change now gripping the whole world. (PNA) LAP/LVM/lvmicua/rma/rsm

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