Legal basis and implementing policy
- DENR Administrative Order No. 98-50 adopts a system for Safe and Sanitary Disposal of Waste consistent with the Philippines Environmental Code (PD 1152) and the Pollution Control Decree of 1976 (PD 984) and their implementing rules and regulations (Section 1).
- The order is anchored on the role of the DENR in managing and developing the country’s environment and natural resources (preamble).
- The DENR is placed as Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Waste Management (PTFWM) by Presidential Memorandum Circular No. 88, Series of 1994 (preamble).
- The order recognizes the responsibility of LGUs under Republic Act No. 7160 (Local Government Code) for providing basic services, including solid waste management (preamble).
- The order cites the need for technical assistance on municipal solid waste management system based on Presidential Decree 1152 and Executive Order No. 192 (preamble).
- The guidelines expressly cover consistency with PD 1152 and PD 984 (preamble).
Scope: who must follow
- The guidelines apply to all waste disposal sites in the country (Section 3).
- The guidelines apply whether waste disposal sites are operated by Local Government Units (LGUs) or by the private sector (Section 3).
Key definitions for siting criteria
- Absolute criteria are the minimum requirements a site must meet to be considered (Section 2).
- Conditional criteria are criteria indicating a site meets the absolute conditions/requirements but remains subject to or dependent on additional conditions that enhance the site selection process and are not exclusionary (Section 2).
- Confined aquifers are aquifers located between two relatively impermeable layers (Section 2).
- Generation rate means the amount of waste generated, expressed as kg/person/day (Section 2).
- Haul distance is the distance a collection vehicle travels from the service area (collection area) to a treatment and/or disposal facility (Section 2).
- Leachate is liquid contaminated from contact with decomposing wastes containing bacteria and other materials that drain out of dumpsites and landfills (Section 2).
- Liners are low-permeability barriers (clayey soils and/or synthetic materials such as high density polyethylene, or both) that eliminate leakage or minimize the rate at which leachate escapes into the surrounding environment (Section 2).
- Liquefaction is the process of making or becoming liquid, or the state of being liquid (Section 2).
- Perennial means present in all seasons of the year (Section 2).
- Permeability is the rate at which a substance can penetrate or pass through a medium (e.g., soil) (Section 2).
- Recharge area is a highly permeable region or area that serves as a source of water (Section 2).
- Return period is the time interval when an event is expected to recur (Section 2).
- Sanitary Landfill is a waste disposal site designed, constructed, operated, and maintained to exert engineering control over significant potential environmental impacts from facility development and operation (Section 2).
- Seismic refers to earth movement or vibration (Section 2).
- Sinkholes are hollow or depression where drainage collects (Section 2).
- Transfer station is a place or facility where wastes are transferred from smaller collection vehicles into larger transport vehicles for transport to the final disposal site (Section 2).
- Topography is the physical configuration of a surface detailing natural and man-made features, showing relative position and elevations (Section 2).
- Up-gradient means up-slope or upstream (Section 2).
- Visual barriers are natural or man-made barriers used to keep a disposal area visually inaccessible (Section 2).
- Waste characteristics are properties of the waste stream (type; physical and chemical composition) (Section 2).
Landfill siting criteria and required factors
- Landfill site identification and screening must use the following criteria: (1) Area Capability and Availability; (2) Haul Distance and time; (3) Proximity to Sensitive Groundwater Resources; (4) Proximity to Perennial Surface Water; (5) Occurrence of Flooding; (6) Proximity to sensitive Land users; (7) Local Ecological Conditions; (8) Current and Future Land Use; (9) Seismic Condition; (10) Geologic Condition; (11) Soil/Land Condition; (12) Topography; and (13) Proximity to Airports (Section 4).
- ANNEX A provides the details of these guidelines and forms an integral part of the order (Section 4).
Methodology for site identification and selection
- The sanitary landfill site identification methodology consists of: (a) data acquisition; (b) plotting of excluded areas using absolute criteria on an appropriate map; (c) identification of candidate areas from the map for field survey; (d) site survey and evaluation; and (e) selection of preferred site (Section 5).
- Data may be obtained from existing maps at scales (1:10,000, 1:50,000 or 1:200,000), aerial photographs, site visits, and interviews with local officials and residents (Section 5).
- The results of the siting process must be presented as an acceptability matrix that provides qualitative evaluation of each site based on the site identification and screening criteria (Section 5).
- The acceptability matrix must aid local officials in assessing the best site for the proposed landfill and ecological waste management center (Section 5).
- The final decision must be approved by the council of elected officials after due public consultation, taking into account both technical and financial considerations (Section 5).
Amendments, repeal, and separability
- All pertinent guidelines or rules and regulations inconsistent with the guidelines are revised, amended, and/or modified accordingly (Section 7).
- The guidelines may be amended and/or modified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources from time to time (Section 8).
- If any section or provision is held or declared unconstitutional or invalid by a complete court, the remaining sections or provisions continue in force as if the annulled or voided provisions had never been incorporated (Section 6).