Bicol university

College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering
A.Y. 2019-2020

For : Engr. Michelle A. Canaria

Professor. Department of Chemical Engineering
From : Nestor Jan Kenneth P. Borromeo
BSChE – V
Subject : Solid Waste Management
Narrative Report on Sanitary Landfill Visit

Figure 1: Third Cell of brgy. Banquerohan’s Sanitary Landfill

A site visit on Legaspi city’s sanitary landfill facility in Brgy. Banquerohan, Legazpi City
was conducted by the fifth-year chemical engineering students of Bicol University’s College of
Engineering last October 18, 2019 as a learning supplement in their Solid Waste Management
subject. The visit had a duration of more or less around four hours, with the assembly, arrival,
and departure time included.
 Upon arriving at the site, the students were directed into the administration building
where face masks were dispensed among the students to protect them from the pungent odor
seeping out from the landfill. The students were then briefed by the landfill’s officials. As stated
by the landfill’s officials, the sanitary landfill in barangay Banquerohan is the only sanitary
landfill located in Bicol region. The facility began construction on 2009 and was fully
operational by October 2011. Trees lined the area of the facility facing the road serving as a s
green buffer which gave the facility a welcoming site. The site was also very spacious which
permitted the creation of more cells if the need comes and was relatively far from any residential
areas. The landfill initially had 2 cells, the former having an area of 1.015 hectares and the
second, 0.371 hectares but a third cell was added to compensate for the closure of the former
two. The students were first directed into the smaller of the initial cells. The smaller cell was yet
to be covered with soil which allowed insects and birds to feast upon the decomposing mounds
of solid waste. A small canal was built on the perimeter of the cell which allowed rain water
leaching off from the mounds to be collected and directed into a sump tank located a few meters
from the cell where it is subjected to aerobic biological treatment. The sump tank was filled with
pitch black water and was bug-ridden due to it being open to the atmosphere. All cells were said
to be lined with HDPE-plastic and a bed of gravel to prevent the leachate from leaching into the
soil and contaminating any underground bodies of water. The students were then directed into
the second cell which was already partly covered with soil and vegetation, particularly
kangkong. The leachate ponds were also located at the vicinity of the larger cell. There were 6
ponds on the said location, the first being another sump tank, the second, an anaerobic
stabilization pond tank where leachate is kept for four days before being transferred into 3
stabilization ponds where it is kept for 20 days before being directed into the maturation pond
where it is kept for an additional 15 days before being discharged into a nearby body of water. A
composting facility is also located past the second cell. The composts were fine and ground-like
in texture which reflected how long and properly they were kept. There were dogs freely
loitering the facility which may have been there to guard the facility, but would have been better
if they were kept on a leash as the canines may accidentally find their way on the mounds of
trash. There were also bird-infested mounds of trash a few meters away from the composting
facility. The students were then directed into the third cell which was located behind the smaller
of the former cells. The third cell was bigger than the first two and was only starting to be filled
with trash which allowed the HDPE-plastic and gravel bed layer to be clearly seen. There was
also a young sump tank just beside the cell which was only beginning to be filled with leachate.
After staying for a few minutes at the third cell, the students were directed back into the vicinity
of the administration building where they rode back on their rented jeepneys, hence concluding
the site visit.
The site visit was truly a helpful learning supplement to our solid waste management
subject as it not only made us see an actual landfill in action but also made us see any possible
improvements which we as future chemical engineers may impart to the facility in the near
future which it currently lacks such as a gas collection system. The caretakers mentioned that
although the landfill does have a leachate collection system, it lacks any methane collection
system which unfortunately allows the gas to continuously seep out of the cells without ever
being put to use. As mentioned earlier there were also a couple of animals littering the facility,
specifically dogs and birds. Albeit the dogs can be controlled (assuming they were placed there
to serve as guards of the composting facility), the birds are a different matter as there was
literally a flock of them feasting on the decomposing trash which may cause plastic-ingestion
related problems to their bodies. My particular attention to this is due to one criterion of a
properly maintained landfill being sealed off from any animals, a characteristic which the facility
clearly lacks. The landfill may employ bird deterrent products such as scarecrows, optical gels,
and distressed bird call noise deterrents that landfills abroad use to minimize the presence of
birds in the landfill. Albeit the facility may be pestered with animals, the opposite is true for
human trash pickers as the facility is adequately fenced. Cells 1 and 2, albeit already being filled,
are also yet to be completely covered with soil as mentioned earlier, probably due to lack of
available source of soil. Another thing that drew my attention is the unkept path leading to the
composting facility. The path was overgrown with grass and weeds which made it rather damp
and was also only big enough to fit a maximum of two individuals which may make traversing
the said area quite difficult which could, perhaps on extremely rare occasions, cause the
caretakers to fall on the unfenced leachate ponds. No such incidences have been reported just yet
but since this is a matter of personnel safety, the administration could have paid more attention to
this detail. Owing to the fact that Legazpi is just one of the many cities in a third world country,
the maintenance and operation of these sanitary landfills can be extremely challenging and hence
would make the aforementioned deficiencies somewhat understandable. These would also reflect
the gravity of our roles as future chemical engineers. As future chemical engineers it is then up to
us to ensure the sustainability of such facilities for the embitterment of the environment and the
local community as well.