The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) are looking into other options for dispatching tons of waste due to the closure of its waste depository in Capas, Tarlac this October.
Producing 60 tons of waste every day, Subic, particularly its commercial and industrial businesses, has run into a massive problem at Kalangitan Sanitary Landfill Facilities' closing, said SBMA Ecology Center Manager Amethya Dela Llana. More importantly, this may affect the area's environment, which carries its robust tourism industry.
Kalangitan landfill processes about a million tons of waste yearly. The waste arrives from places like the Subic and Clark free ports, which are special economic zones, and places in Metro Manila, Central and Northern Luzon. The landfill also receives waste from thousands of hospitals.
However, the Bases Conversion and Development Agency (BCDA) announced the 25-year service contract of Kalangitan landfill's operator, Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation (MCWMC), will not be renewed by the Clark Development Corporation.
“We will have to look for an alternative. The SBMA is exploring different options right now, including looking at alternative service providers. Nevertheless, we expect Metro Clark to look for another landfill if, indeed, Kalangitan shall be closed in October,” Dela Llana stated.
Local governments were concerned the Kalangitan landfill closure would lead to adverse health effects, which compelled them to petition for the extension of the landfill's operations at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in April.
