Five Philippine Landfills Flagged for Fire Risk, Environmental Bureau Warns

MANILA, Philippines — Five sanitary landfills across the Philippines, including one in Metro Manila, are at high risk of catching fire, the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) warned. Michael Matias, director of the EMB under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), identified the Navotas Sanitary Landfill, Rizal Provincial Sanitary Landfill in Rodriguez, Binaliw Sanitary Landfill in Cebu City, Davao City Sanitary Landfill, and Urdaneta Sanitary Landfill in Pangasinan as being at risk for "danger of fire" during a Senate committee hearing on solid waste management. Sen. Risa Hontiveros emphasized the need for preemptive measures against potential hazards from landfills already in "critical condition." Past incidents underscore the urgency. On April 10, the Navotas landfill caught fire due to methane buildup, increasing air pollution in nearby Metro Manila areas, with the fire taking a month to extinguish. In February, a garbage mound collapse at the Rodriguez, Rizal landfill killed one person. This followed a trash-slide at the Binaliw landfill in Cebu in January that claimed 36 lives and injured 18. The Davao City landfill is undergoing "safe closure and rehabilitation" after being ordered closed on June 20. For the Urdaneta City Landfill, a P459-million upgrade and rehabilitation plan was proposed in 2024, four years after the DENR issued a cease and desist order for violating the Philippine Clean Water Act. Hontiveros noted the irony of "critical" landfills being located in highly urbanized areas with more resources. She characterized the landfill tragedies not as mere accidents but as "symptoms of a much deeper problem—a failure of governance and failure of implementation in our waste management." She added that gaps in the implementation of waste reduction, segregation, and recycling at the local level continue to push large volumes of waste into landfills, contrary to laws that intend landfills to be a last resort.