About 500 cyclists are taking to the road to block the opening of a new garbage dump in San Mateo, Rizal.

Forming the mobile part of the Coalition for a Garbage-free San Mateo, they will gather today at the San Mateo Parish grounds then wheel around town, after a program joined by Marikina Rep. Del de Guzman and Akbayan party-list Rep. Rissa Hontiveros Baraquel along with members of EcoWaste Coalition, Greenpeace, Kalikasan-People’s Network for Environment.

The Supreme Court ordered in 2005 the closure of the Pintong Bukawe site but another facility is being built up in the vicinity of Maly and Guinayang villages, said coalition principal Joan Orendain in a statement.

At least 19 hectares of protected forest area have been cleared by contractor Abelardo Salazar of the San Mateo Sanitary Landfill and Development Corp., she added.

The waste dump forms part of the Marikina Watershed on a plus 50-degree slope, endangering water supplies in the area including Metro Manila, and the health of San Mateo’s almost 200,000 residents.

The green cyclists belong to Bike Roadie Group, UP Mountaineers, Firefly Brigade and San Mateo Bike Club.