Sunday, January 07, 2007 Cebu City sets 2015 as target By Gingging A. Campaña Of Sun.Star Cebu
WITH garbage volume increasing and the sanitary landfill in Barangay Inawayan filling up, the Cebu City Government faces bigger challenges in the next 10 years.
The City Council adopted last Wednesday the Solid Waste Management Board’s 10-year plan, which aims to make the city the cleanest in the country by 2015.
The plan, covering 2005 to 2014, was covered by a resolution sponsored by Councilors Jocelyn Pesquera, Nestor Archival and Edwin Jagmoc.
It includes having a well-managed sanitary landfill, waste collection, recycling, composting, a functional community-based monitoring and evaluation system, education, public information and incentives.
But the board believes success can’t be achieved by the City Government alone, but by a collaborative effort among the barangays, people’s organizations and nongovernment organizations, the private and business sector and the academe.
Identifying the characteristics of the City’s surroundings, the type of wastes thrown and collected and the constraints in managing solid waste collection was the board’s challenge.
Over-dependent
The board said the community has been over-dependent on the City Government on expenses in managing solid waste and that the people don’t know enough about waste disposal. The government is inconsistent in enforcing laws on waste management. Its landfill is fast filling up and it lacks garbage trucks and equipment.
The Central Visayas Urban Project study reported that 49.7 percent of Cebu City’s wastes come from residential sources, 17.7 percent from industries/manufacturing, 12.6 percent from markets, 2.5 percent from commercial establishments, 2.5 percent from other sources, and one percent from construction and demolition.
The total estimate on solid wastes collected in Cebu City as of 2003 was 2,010.21 cubic meters per day or 82.05 tons per day.
Volume of garbage collected varies according to household income.
It was found that the low-income households in Metro Cebu generated the most volume of garbage at 61.5 percent, the middle-income households 21.3 percent and the high-income households, about 17.2 percent.
The plan cited data taken from the Department of Public Services (DPS), which showed an increasing trend in the annual volume of garbage collection in Cebu City in 2003.
While the estimated volume of waste disposed was 359.02 cubic meters per day, or 14.65 tons per day, the National Statistics Office revealed that 47 percent of the households in the city have their waste collected by trucks.
Burn, bury
About 34.8 percent burn their garbage; 12.4 percent dump them in pits; 0.9 percent convert these to fertilizers; 0.8 percent bury their wastes; and 0.4 percent feed these to animals.
Others dispose of their garbage by throwing these into canals, rivers, streets and other open spaces. These mostly come from residential areas.
Non-residential wastes include those from commercial and industrial activities. These come from production of food, beverage, textile, garments, leather, woodcraft, metal craft, paper products, printing, chemical products, plastic products, rubber, non-metallic, machinery and equipment, among others.
Other wastes come from hospitals and schools, markets, construction and demolition of structures, streets, as well as special, hazardous wastes, sewage and septic sludge.
The area that disposes of the most volume of garbage, at 33.66 tons, is Carbon Public Market in Barangay Ermita.
2014 deadline
To reduce the garbage at source, separation of wastes was practiced by some sectors at temporary storage areas, before the trash was collected. But there is no available information on the magnitude, social, financial and waste reduction aspects of materials recovered, the board reported.
According to the plan, the waste management board hopes that by the end of 2014, groups that generate wastes will be fully informed and take responsibility for effective waste management.
The board also wants the number of waste-related production units and waste trading system to increase. It aims to reduce expenses for conventional collection and disposal. It also wants a regular monitoring system on alternative wastes.
The board said it will know it is successful when less garbage is collected from major waste generators; when the volume of recyclables going to the landfill decreases by 89 percent; when there is no waste-related production; when the waste-trading market is active; and when water and coastal resources are cleaner.
To achieve the plan, the board cited strategies that include information campaign, reward system and the “Kwarta sa Basura” project.
Power
It also cited a plan for the existing landfill, whose projected life span was only seven years since its full operation in 1998. It plans to produce electrical energy through methane gas for City Government offices.
The board also wants the landfill system to be set up for companies that will be built in the South Road Properties.
This year, the City has already entered into a memorandum of agreement with a biogas company for a test project on the landfill, without cost to the City.
If this project succeeds, the City, in 10 years, will be able to sell electricity cheaper than that what the Visayan Electric Co. offers. (GAC)
