Greenpeace Water Patrol investigates polluting garbage dump in Laguna Lake

As part of the investigation, the activists procured water samples in the vicinity, and placed a signpost with the words "Our trash. Our water. Protect our water sources!" to also remind the public, in time for Earth Day tomorrow, that waste dumped on land eventually ends up in the water that we use.  The theme for this year’s Earth Day in the Philippines is water protection.

"Illegal, open dump sites have remapped the banks of Laguna Lake, creating reclaimed areas built on the filthy refuse of towns and cities, and slowly killing one of the major freshwater bodies in our country. How have we come to this?  Clearly there is a serious shortcoming in the government's enforcement of its own environmental laws,"  said Greenpeace Toxics Campaigner Beau Baconguis.

"But Greenpeace would also like to highlight this Earth Day that this should be a call to action for all Filipinos to adopt a more responsible attitude toward the waste they generate and dispose.  Through the simple practice of responsible waste management at home, such as segregation and composting of organic waste, we can be part of the solution to the problem of garbage and water pollution."

 

The Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) disclosed last December that dumpsites in four municipalities—Paete and Biñan, Laguna, and Angono and Taytay, Rizal—are located close to Laguna Lake’s shores. Meanwhile fourteen dumpsites various other nearby towns compound the lake's water pollution problem.  Although the LLDA has asked the concerned local government units to implement the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000 (RA 9003) the dumps continue to pollute the lake.  oxic leachate from the said garbage dumps are expected to ooze into the lake for years to come, even after the dumps are successfully closed.

The dumps in Angono and Taytay, in particular, occupy the lake's waters in blatant violation of the Clean Water Act of 2004 (RA 9275), and RA 9003.  The Angono dumpsite was supposedly declared closed by Mayor Aurora Villamayor last January 2008, but Greenpeace Water Patrol investigations encountered garbage trucks delivering fresh garbage to the site just a week ago.  The Taytay dumpsite, on the other hand, is still fully operational.

Laguna Lake, also known as Laguna de Bay, is the country's largest lake, and the 2nd largest freshwater basin in Southeast Asia.  It is being eyed as a potential source of potable water for Metro Manila.  However, according to the LLDA, the lake is in danger of dying in five years if no steps are taken to improve its fast deteriorating water quality.

"Starting with the Angono dumpsite, Greenpeace is taking samples of water within the lake as part of our larger campaign, Project Clean Water, launched last October 2007.  The project aims to bring people together toward a common goal of safeguarding our water sources.  We intend to examine and expose the pollution levels of various freshwater sources around the country. Through this, we hope to catalyze much-needed action to reverse the continuing decline of our water resources," said Baconguis.  Greenpeace expects to release the partial results of its investigations later this year.