Smokey Mountain
Also known as: Smokey Mountain, Tondo · Smoky Mountain dumpsite
Definition
Smokey Mountain is the name given to a former garbage dump in Tondo, Manila, which operated for decades and grew into a two-mound landfill that became an enduring symbol of urban poverty in the Philippines. Formally closed in the 1990s, the site was redeveloped into medium-rise housing and a reclaimed industrial area, though the name remains shorthand for destitution and scavenging.
Identities
| Database | Identifier |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia | Smokey Mountain |
| Wikidata | Q911230 |
| DBpedia | N/A |
Also Known As
- Smokey Mountain, Tondo
- Smoky Mountain dumpsite
Examples and Analogies
The dump was so named because decomposing refuse released continuous plumes of methane smoke, resembling a smoldering volcano rising over Manila’s port district, a grim inversion of the postcard volcano image of the Philippines.
Usage Scenarios
For scavenger families, the dump functioned as workplace, marketplace, and home: residents picked recyclable plastics, metals, and paper from fresh garbage loads, sold them to junk shops, and built makeshift housing on and around the mounds, a pattern replicated at other dumpsites like Payatas in Quezon City.
Strategies
Redevelopment combined closure of the dump, a reclamation and development joint venture converting the site into an industrial estate, and construction of medium-rise public housing blocks for former scavengers, alongside livelihood programs intended to shift residents from picking to formal work.
Security and Safety Measures
Health safeguards focused on respiratory disease monitoring, toxic site remediation before housing construction, relocation of families from the mound slopes, and disaster safety since garbage hills risked collapses and fires. Persistent fire outbreaks in remaining debris kept Bureau of Fire Protection response a staple of the district.
Historical Context
The dump grew from post-war discards into an official landfill serving Manila, reaching tens of meters high by the 1980s when an estimated tens of thousands of people lived from its waste. President Fidel Ramos ordered its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s, and later administrations grappled with unfinished housing obligations and the syndicated claims of displaced residents.
Challenges and Controversies
The redevelopment was hounded by allegations of anomalous deals, incomplete building turnover, and families left out of beneficiary lists, while returning waste hauling and informal scrap economies kept pockets of the area degraded. Activists continue to cite Smokey Mountain when criticizing national poverty statistics and housing backlogs.
Related Topic
Tondo