The Queen City has no landfill - and it's costly
Abustling metropolis with a population of nearly a million – 922,611 to be exact, Cebu City generates at least 560,000 kilograms of trash daily. With no facility to dump it in, what is being done to ensure the city doesn’t stink?
It’s a question that has preoccupied officials of the City Hall’s Department of Public Services (DPS) and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) for nearly two years now.
Yet the garbage collection problem of the city, and the solutions proposed to solve it, did not happen overnight.
On December 15, 2016, the Court of Appeals ordered the shutdown of the city’s sole landfill, a 315-square kilometer facility located in Barangay Inayawan.
The reasons? It already exceeded its maximum capacity; it affected public health and the environment; it had outgrown its usefulness; and it had become ill-suited for its purpose.
It was not the first time the landfill was closed, though. In April 2011 and January 2015, the landfill was also ordered shut, before the administration of Mayor Tomas Osmeña decided to open it back in July 2016.
As expected, the reopening was met with stern condemnation from quarters directly affected by the stench from the mounds of garbage, including students and teachers at a university in the nearby barangay of Mambaling and the residents of Inayawan themselves.
Enter Cebu City Councilor Joel Garganera, former chairman of the committee on environment.
Garganera filed a petition for Writ of Kalikasan before the CA, contending that the landfill’s continued operation would cause serious damage that threatened and violated the people’s right to a balanced and healthy ecology.
The appellate court, and later the Supreme Court, would later rule in favor of the councilor. It was a decision that brought with it another problem: Where would Cebu City’s trash go now?
Under Section 2 of R.A 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act, the local government unit is mandated to implement measures for the reduction of garbage or waste minimization measures such as composting, recycling, recovery, among others.
William Cuñado, director of the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas, told The FREEMAN, however, that LGUs are not required under the law to establish a sanitary landfill, per se.
“It’s not necessary to put up a landfill. What’s necessary is to have adequate treatment and management of waste,” he said.
After the landfill’s closure, the city began transacting with a service provider that will haul trash from a transfer station in Cebu City to a private landfill in Consolacion.
But the present setup proves more costly to the city.
In 2014, when the Inayawan dump was still operational, the city government, under the administration of former mayor Michael Rama, allocated P60 million for garbage disposal. The city collected at least 67,000 tons of garbage that year.
In 2015, the city allocated P101 million for the same purpose.
Under the 2016 annual budget, some P135 million was allocated for garbage disposal.
However, data showed that the actual expenses for the hauling operation reached P300.4 million from December 2016, when the landfill was closed, to December 2017. The figure was broken down as follows: P 7.5 million for December 2016; P125 million for January to May 2017; P67 million for June to August 2017; and P99 million for September to December 2017.
This year, P300 million was set aside for the hauling operation. For January, the city spent P24 million, P144 million for February to August and P9.3 million for September 1 to 15 this year.
Osmeña’s administration was at the receiving end of criticisms for supposedly spending a lot for garbage disposal.
During Rama’s term, north district barangays paid tipping fees of only P700 per truck at the Asian Energy System
Corp. landfill in Consolacion town.
For south district barangays, it was
P1,500 per truck.
Councilor Eduardo Rama Jr., former DPS head, said the garbage hauling expenses of the present administration became costlier due to the rental of heavy equipment.
Rama said that during his uncle’s term, the city government only set aside P50 million in annual budget for garbage hauling.
“Costly karon because naa’y rental and we’re renting trucks closely for P600,000 a month,” he said.
Under the present setup, compactor trucks collect the garbage from the homes and establishments and take it to a transfer station near the Inayawan landfill. There, a private service provider hauls the trash to its final disposal site in Consolacion.
Councilor Rama said the most effective way to cut down garbage hauling expenses is to pay the contractor for rental of heavy equipment on tonnage basis.
“For me, I would like to push for productivity scheme rather than hour basis. Kung ma-flat ang ligid, bayad ta. Kung mag-CR ang driver, magbayad ta,” Rama said.
Under the rental contract, the supplier has to provide reserved trucks to replace dilapidated trucks to ensure continuity of operation.
The contractor also shoulders the fuel consumption.
It was in October 2017 when Mayor Osmeña decided
to rent these trucks to improve the collection, as the city has limited resources.
The problem is, out of the 33 trucks used during the administration of Rama, only 11 trucks are up and running.
The other 22 were already dilapidated, and the present administration is not willing to repair them, saying it will “cost a lot of money.”
Given the situation, the DPS and the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office are pressed to be more innovative in their approaches to properly manage the city’s garbage.
One of the methods arrived at is to streamline the schedules of garbage collection. From 12 midnight up to 8 a.m., garbage loaders go to interior portions of the city; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., they take trash from business establishments; and 4 p.m to 12 midnight, they take garbage from the main thorough fares.
Likewise, the “No Segregation, No Collection” policy has been strictly implemented to help reduce hauling expenses. This policy involves asking the public to segregate their trash as biodegradable, non-biodegradable, residual, and special wastes.
CCENRO scheduled the collection of biodegradable wastes on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and non-biodegradable wastes and residual wastes on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays.
Special wastes, such as those from hospitals, are collected at announced dates as they need to be handled separately by Transporter and Treatment, Storage and Disposal (TSD) facility registered with EMB-7.
Violators will be fined from P500 to P3,000, depending on the nature of violation. For first offense, a fine of P500 or community service await violators; and P1,000 for second offense, also with a corresponding community service.
Lei Clement Macalisang, owner of Anise Bistro resto bar situated on Katipunan Street, has welcomed this scheme.
In fact, he said he appreciates the regular collection of trash by garbage loaders of the city.
“It's a great program by the government. It can really help expedite the process of separating our garbage and will ultimately help the city through saved funds by cutting labor and easier recycling,” Macalisang said.
Wendy Rayos, a mother and native of Barangay Buhisan, does not agree, saying she is not satisfied with the current garbage collection efforts.
Garbage loaders, she said, do not collect their trash on a regular basis, that is why trash piles up in the vicinity of their house.
“Hinaot ko nga mag-collect gyud unta sila everyday kay ang langaw sad magpundok. Unya kadugay uloron sad ang malata. Samot na’s mga diaper ug napkin. Dapat everyday pud unta ila collection kay hugaw baya,” Rayos said.
Cabarrubias said since they enforced the policy, the volume of garbage collected per day has reduced. Before, 650 tons of garbage was collected. Now, the daily figure is roughly 560 tons.
He attributed this to the segregation efforts of the city residents.
The DPS also launched a basura hotline (09124445555) in October 2017 to accommodate garbage-related concerns. The office receives around 20 calls and text messages every day.
But are these initiatives enough to answer the garbage woes of the Queen City of the South? —/JMD
(To be continued tomorrow…)