In San Jose de Buenavista, the capital of Antique, the local sanitary landfill is on the brink of a crisis, filling up much faster than anticipated. Originally designed to last a decade from its inception in 2021, the landfill in Barangay Pantao is now nearly full, a situation that has alarmed local officials. Cris John Banusing, the municipal council’s chair of the Committee on Environment, expressed concerns over the landfill’s rapid filling, attributing it to poor waste segregation practices at the source.
Banusing highlighted the financial constraints facing the municipality, noting that an expansion of the landfill would require at least PHP30 million, a sum currently unavailable in the local budget. The town generates about 16 tons of solid waste daily, with three tons classified as residual waste, which cannot be composted or recycled.
Efforts to educate the community on proper waste segregation have been ongoing, but Banusing admits there has been a significant failure in implementation. In an attempt to mitigate the situation, the council has reached out to a junk shop in Iloilo City willing to purchase non-recyclable plastics like gift wrappers and straws. Banusing stressed that effective waste segregation by residents could significantly reduce the volume of waste destined for the landfill, potentially averting the looming crisis.