Questions force council to postpone establishment of MRF in 5 barangays

THE establishment of a material recovery facility (MRF) in five barangays in Cebu City worth P55 million has been deferred by the City Council.

Some councilors questioned the project, particularly the inclusion of a waste-to-energy component.

“What is it (waste-to-energy) for?” said Councilor Eduardo Rama Jr.

Greenergy Solutions Inc. (GSI) had offered to establish a P4-billion waste-to-energy project at the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill at no cost to the City Government.

Councilor Jose Daluz III said the council opposed and rejected GSI’s offer.

Councilor Nida Cabrera, who heads the council’s committee on environment, said the waste-to-energy component is a plastic-to-fuel facility.

Cost

Cabrera is the author of the resolution that seeks to build MRFs in Barangays Luz, Talamban, Guba, Kalunasan and Adlaon.

MRFs will also be established in Barangays Guba, Kalunasan, and Adlaon. The facility was initially supposed to rise in Barangay Quiot, but residents there were against it.

Daluz questioned the establishment of MRFs in these mountain barangays, saying not much garbage is generated in these areas. He said the MRF should be established in an urban barangay.

Councilor Augustus Pe Jr. also asked how much an MRF costs.

Based on the original proposal, it costs P18.3 million. The amount covers the construction of the structure (P15 million), purchase of composting shredders (P500,000), installation of waste-to-energy equipment (P2 million), purchase of composting materials (P400,000), and honoraria of five personnel (P400,000).

The council asked Cabrera to come up with a detailed breakdown of the P55 million for the project. The funding was acquired from the Local Government Support Fund of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Purpose

The City seeks to establish barangay MRFs to divert the city’s solid wastes. That way, the volume of garbage that will be delivered to the private sanitary landfill in Consolacion town will be “significantly reduced.” It will also cut down the P700-tipping fee the City pays to the private facility, Cabrera said.

The City currently delivers 350 tons of garbage to the landfill in Consolacion. With the establishment of the barangay MRFs, it hopes to bring down the number to 250 tons.