SURALLAH, SOUTH COTABATO—The Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) of the Municipality of Surallah has recommended to their Mayor for the non-renewal of the contract between them and Koronadal City (COK) on the disposal of residual waste at the province’s Cluster Sanitary Landfill (SLF) located in Colungolo, this municipality.
The matter was raised by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) who are members of the SLF Technical Working Group (TWG) during the Provincial SLF Board meeting conducted here recently.
“COK’s average monthly residual waste disposal rate is 1 versus 4 for the municipal LGU; we expect Cell #1 to be full in just a short period of time because of this,” MENRO Yolanda Plaira told the SLF board.
COK and Surallah entered into a contract through Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for a period of one (1) year effective March 2016 allowing the former to dispose their residual waste at the SLF when DENR-EMB 12 enforced the closure of the dumpsite of the province’s lone City LGU last year as stipulated in RA 9003 or Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
With the MOA expiry nearing, Supervising Environment Management Specialist Elbe Balucanag, one of the SLF TWG members, requested the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (ENRO) TWG member to send a letter of reconsideration or appeal to the SWMB regarding the matter.
She likewise appealed to Surallah SWMB through Surallah MENRO to reconsider their earlier decision. The town’s SWMB is a multi-sectoral body composed of municipal department heads and NGOs with the Mayor as Chairperson.
COK through the City ENRO likewise disclosed that their SLF will be finished or operational by October this year.
