Landfill fire won’t be put out ‘today to tomorrow’

Santo Domingo.- The Minister of Public Works, Ramón Pepín, on Tuesday asked the public to understand that the smoke produced by the fire in the Duquesa landfill is not going to be eliminated from “today to tomorrow,” because they are looking for a relatively short-term solution to a problem 20 years old.

He affirmed however that the worst is over, and that at this time they are working to reduce the smoke to its minimum, since the main sources of the fire have been controlled, but that the population must understand that even the rain does not contribute with the definitive elimination.

Pepín said Public Works is sealing the dump with a 40-centimeter layer of clay and caliche, but that there is a time when the landfill must be allowed to breathe, because it cannot be totally sealed.

“We have to let the landfill breathe, the biogas is consumed, and if we fill everything up, the situation could be complicated.”