ILOILO CITY — More than 127 metric tons of forfeited ukay-ukay or imported secondhand clothing, worth P15.4 million, confiscated by the Bureau of Customs (BOC)-Port of Iloilo, were buried at the sanitary landfill in this city.
The disposal, carried out on June 29 and June 30, involved 2,171 bales, 160 sacks, and four boxes of imported ukay-ukay.
General Services Office (GSO) head Engr. Neil Ravena said on Monday, July 6, that the city initially sought to divert the confiscated textiles into a circular economy program to reduce waste.
“I was negotiating if they could become part of the circular economy instead of disposing of them in our sanitary landfill because we know that textiles can take 20 to 30 years to decompose,” he said.
The proposal, however, did not prosper because the BOC is required to destroy forfeited goods in accordance with its existing legal procedures.
“The condemnation process is very clear under their legal procedures, and they have to follow it. That's why we ended up disposing of the condemned, forfeited ukay-ukay in the sanitary landfill,” he explained.
At least 10 lorry trucks transported the confiscated clothing to the landfill in Barangay Calajunan, Mandurriao, where workers dug a pit and used an excavator to bury the items permanently.
Although the process complied with government regulations, Ravena acknowledged that burying more than 127 metric tons of textiles would consume valuable landfill space and slightly reduce the operational lifespan of the city's 3.5-hectare sanitary landfill.
“It will shorten the life of the sanitary landfill, but that is the prescribed technical process. The BOC coordinated with us, and we assisted them in disposing of the forfeited items,” he said.
The Calajunan sanitary landfill is expected to reach the end of its 10-year design life this year, although the GSO chief said it can continue operating while the Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility in La Paz is being completed.
Ravena said burying the confiscated clothing also ensured the items could no longer be retrieved and sold back into the market.
“One reason they disposed of them this way is that they didn't want the items to be reused. They likely wanted to prevent employees or waste pickers from recovering them and selling them again,” he added.