NO DUMPSITE in Barangay Lara. Only an area for residual wastes to be processed into green energy pellets at the biosphere facility of Spectrum Blue Steel Corp. (SBSC).
So City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez has always held. Notwithstanding views to the contrary expressed by environmentalists not the least of whom is San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David.
So we indulged Rodriguez’s fancy. So we accepted the report, in early February 2012, of the city council’s committee on environment chair Councilor Reden Halili that the biosphere facility had started producing green energy pellets from residual wastes.
“We observed the production of the green pellets during the dry run…We are hopeful that by March 1 this year, we will dump garbage there and not in Kalangitan.” So enthused Halili in a Sun-Star Pampanga story.
“Rodriguez welcomed the move and said the facility would be a big relief in solid waste management for the city and other municipalities.” The news story furthered.
By May 2012 came media reports of mounting “residual wastes” around the biosphere facility anew, renewing denunciation of the continuing use of the Lara dumpsite.
“Unfortunately, we had problems in shredding residual wastes when our machine malfunctioned which forced us to pile up ready to shred residual wastes outside the plant.” Admitted one Engineer Esteban Callo Jr., reputedly chief engineer of True Green Energy Corp. of which SBSC is reputedly a subsidiary.
Callo disclosed then that the malfunctioning of their shredding machine started right in the first month of their operation.
“The shredder’s blade got sluggish after two to three hours of usage so we had to stop until the blade is sharp again. Later on, the blade gave up. We cannot use the machine anymore…
As of now, all we can do is sort out residuals being sent to our plant. We cannot yet press together or pelletize these residuals because we’re still waiting for our bigger machines,”” So he said.
Apprised of the situation, Rodriguez ordered SBSC to shred all remaining residuals within three weeks or if they could not, residuals should be brought to the sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac.
This, after Bishop Ambo and environmentalists led by Sonny Dobles visited the area and called it an “open dumpsite.”
That was in May yet. It is now August, and the biosphere facility is deeper in residual wastes.
Maybe Rodriguez can modify his anti-dengue program OSCAR — Oplan linis-kapaligiran, Search and destroy insects that spread the virus, Consult the doctor immediately, Aksyon agad, and Regulated fogging – into another OSCAR – Oplan linis kapaligiran, Segregate wastes, Close the dumpsite, Aksyon agad, Revoke the SBSC contract.
