DENR orders shutdown of Binaliw landfill after deadly trash slide

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it has ordered the immediate suspension of operations at the Binaliw Sanitary Landfill in Cebu City following a trash slide on Jan. 8 that killed eight people and injured several others.

In a statement on Monday, the DENR said its Environmental Management Bureau office in Region VII imposed a cease-and-desist order (CDO) on Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc. (PIWSI), which operates the landfill, following the findings of an inspection conducted on Jan. 9.

The CDO directs PIWSI to stop all landfill operations, including the acceptance of waste, except for rescue, retrieval, and cleanup activities undertaken in coordination with concerned agencies.

The DENR said PIWSI has been summoned to a technical conference to establish the facts surrounding the incident and to execute compliance measures within a period not exceeding 90 days.

In an earlier statement, the company said it is working with relevant government agencies and the local government unit to provide assistance and support to those affected by the incident.

The DENR said it is also coordinating with concerned local government units and will assess the status of their required 10-year solid waste management plans and existing oversight measures, as part of efforts to prevent similar incidents.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Navy said on Monday it had deployed rescuers to a central province to bolster search and rescue operations after a landfill avalanche killed and injured several others, four days after the incident.

The navy sent a search, rescue and retrieval team to Cebu to assist local authorities in looking for survivors, saying the unit is specially trained and equipped with technical rescue tools to augment operations.

“This deployment highlights the steadfast commitment to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster response in support of local government units and impacted communities,” it said in a statement.

A mound of garbage at a landfill in the village of Binaliw, Cebu City collapsed on Jan. 8, burying or trapping several people. Rescue efforts are underway, with local authorities saying the death toll has risen to eight while 28 remain missing. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel and Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio