14°43′0.6″N 121°6′19.8″E / 14.716833°N 121.105500°E / 14.716833; 121.105500

The Payatas controlled disposal facility in 2010.

The Payatas dumpsite, also known as the Payatas Controlled Disposal Facility (PCDF), is a former garbage dump in the barangay of the same name in Quezon City, Metro Manila, the Philippines.

Originally established in the 1970s,[1] the former open dumpsite was home to scavengers who migrated to the area after the closure of the Smokey Mountain landfill in Tondo, Manila.[2] After the Payatas landslide happened in 2000,[3] the newly passed Ecological Solid Waste Management Act mandated the closure of open and controlled dumpsites. The dumpsite was reorganized into a controlled disposal facility in 2004 and was permanently closed in 2017.[4]

The former dumpsite is currently being redeveloped into an urban park for cycling activities.[5]

History

The dumpsite was established in the 1970s,[1] as an open dumpsite in Lupang Pangako in Payatas, Quezon City.[3] Prior to this, the area used to be a ravine surrounded by farming villages and rice paddies.[2]

People residing in the Smokey Mountain landfill in Tondo, Manila who worked as scavengers migrated to the Payatas dumpsite after the former's closure in 1995. Payatas then developed a reputation as the "second Smokey Mountain", "21st century Smokey Mountain", "Smokey Mountain Two", "New Smokey Mountain", "Smokey Valley", or the "modern-day Smokey Mountain".[2] On July 10, 2000, the Payatas landslide caused the deaths of 232 people residing within the landfill,[3] which prompted the passage of Republic Act No. 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000,[4] which mandated the closure of open dumpsites by 2001 and controlled dumpsites by 2006.[6] The dumping ground was immediately closed following the incident by then-President Joseph Estrada, but was reopened weeks later by then-Quezon City Mayor Mel Mathay to avert an epidemic in the city due to uncollected garbage caused by the closure.[3]

In 2000, a geologist from the University of the Philippines raised that there might be a possible leakage of leachate from the dumpsite to the La Mesa Dam and Reservoir.[7] The dumpsite is located less than 500 m (1,600 ft) from the reservoir itself.[8]

In 2004, the landfill was reorganized as a controlled disposal facility[4] and was closed in December 2010.[9]

The Payatas dumpsite in 2017, at the time of its permanent closure.

A separate landfill with a stricter waste management policy was established nearby the old open dumpsite[1] in January 2011.[9] Garbage in the dumpsite was dumped on a layer of tarpaulin to prevent seepage of leachate to the groundwater.[4] This dumpsite was permanently closed in December 2017 following an order issued by the DENR Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) on August 2, 2017, so that it could review the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) of IPM Environmental Services, the operator of the dumpsite.[6]

In January 2020, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court ordered the government of Quezon City to pay more than 6 million pesos to the relatives of the 2000 Payatas landslide victims.[10]

In March 2023, the former dumpsite was redeveloped into an urban park for cycling activities.[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Ranada, Pia (6 March 2014). "Time ticking for Payatas landfill". Rappler. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 Donohoe, Martin (2012). Public Health and Social Justice Volume 31 of Public Health/Vulnerable Populations. John Wiley & Sons. p. 41. ISBN 9781118223093.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sison, Bebor Jr.; Felipe, Cecilia Suerte (10 July 2001). "Payatas tragedy: One year after". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Peña, Rox (24 August 2017). "Payatas landfill is permanently closed". Sun Star. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  5. 1 2 Argosino, Faith (March 3, 2023). "LOOK: QC gov't converts Payatas dumpsite into bike park". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Roxas, Pathricia Ann (August 6, 2017). "Environmentalists hail closure of Payatas dumpsite". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  7. ↑ "Payatas contaminating water in La Mesa Dam". Philstar.com. 10 December 2000. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. ↑ Belen, M A; Jacinto, J L; Go, N; Santos, L T; Zagala, A J C; Santos, R A; Apodaca, D C (1 November 2019). "Assessment of the impact of open waste dumpsite on groundwater quality: A case study of the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City, Philippines". IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 344: 012050. doi:10.1088/1755-1315/344/1/012050. S2CID 210268613.
  9. 1 2 "Quezon City Local Government - Background (Domestic Solid Waste)". Quezon City Official Website. Quezon City Government. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  10. ↑ Pulta, Benjamin (16 January 2020). "QC gov't ordered to pay P6M to kin of Payatas tragedy victims". www.pna.gov.ph. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
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