The Rehabilitation of the Payatas Dumpsite: An Evaluation of its Community Safety

Abstract

On July 10, 2000, the country was shocked by the horrific event we now know as the Payatas tragedy. It showed the severe problem of open and indiscriminate dumping, not only in the Philippines but in the entire world. Millions worth of properties lost, hundreds of people died and many more were left unfounded, still buried with the rubble that was Payatas dumpsite. Because of this tragedy, government officials took notice of the problem already present for many years. The problem of open dumpsites such as the one in Payatas and the imminent danger they pose lead to the signing of Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. This law addresses the general problem of waste management in the country. One of its section provide for the conversion and eventual closure of all existing open dumpsites. The Payatas dumpsite is one of the first to be converted, or "rehabilitated", under this law. This project is important in its sense because it seeks to improve the overall safety of open dumpsites, which are present all over the country, from its operation up to its closure. Also, this project is conducted under a law which was put into effect by a tragedy, a classic Filipino trait. This research presents the general profile of the Payatas dumpsite to have an idea about open dumpsites and how they operate. This is followed by a detailed and visual description of the developments carried out on the Payatas dumpsite which seek to improve its overall safety, both to the environment and the people immediately residing along the dumpsite. Next, is a presentation of the opinion of the residents living adjacent to the Payatas dumpsite. This was gathered by the researcher as it is important to know the insights of the residents towards the project as they are the ones greatly and immediately affected by it. Lastly, the two sides, the project itself and the opinion of the residents are compared and contrasted to arrive at an objective conclusion as to whether the project was successful in promoting the Payatas dumpsites overall safety or not. The findings of this research are relevant as it is a growing trend already and similar projects are expected to come up.