THE TOWN of Balamban now has a material recovery facility (MRF), not far from where it used to have an eight-hectare dumpsite, which has been closed last year. The MRF in Barangay Lamesa, built at a cost of P500,000 with funding from the Cebu provincial government, was turned over to the municipal government last June 5. In a statement from the provincial government, Balamban Environment and Natural Resources Office head Merlita Milan said the municipal government is also putting up a composting facility in front of the MRF. The town already has a central MRF where segregation is undertaken with decaying solid waste materials processed in a shredding machine and used for composting, while residual plastics go to a pulverizing machine and mixed with other materials used for construction. Ms. Milan said reusable and recyclable materials are sold to buyers. Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 requires all local governments to close all open dumpsites and establish a waste management system.

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