Authorities flag 5 landfills in ‘critical condition’
Five sanitary landfills, one in Metro Manila and the rest in the provinces, are at risk of catching fire, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) told the Senate committee on environment, natural resources and climate change on Monday during a hearing on solid waste management.
Director Michael Matias of the EMB, which is under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), identified the following landfills as being at risk for “danger of fire”—Navotas Sanitary Landfill, Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill in Rodriguez, Binaliw Sanitary Landfill in Cebu City, Davao City Sanitary Landfill and Urdaneta Sanitary Landfill in Pangasinan.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros cited the need for preemptive measures against potential hazards from landfills that are already in “critical condition.”
On April 10, the Navotas landfill caught fire due to methane buildup, raising air pollution levels in nearby areas in Metro Manila. It took a month before the fire was put out.
Last February, a person was killed after a garbage mound in the Rodriguez, Rizal, landfill collapsed.
This was preceded by another trash-slide in the Binaliw landfill in Cebu in January, which killed 36 and injured 18.
Matias said the Davao City landfill is undergoing “safe closure and rehabilitation” after it was ordered closed on June 20.
As for the Urdaneta City Landfill, a plan for its P459-million upgrade and rehabilitation was proposed in 2024, four years after the DENR ordered a cease-and-desist order against the facility for violating the Philippine Clean Water Act.
