CEBU City Mayor Nestor Archival is calling on residents in the city’s 28 upland barangays to change how they handle their trash. In a press conference on Monday, February 16, 2026, the mayor urged mountain communities to stop sending biodegradable waste to landfills and start composting at home instead.
This move is part of a larger plan to ease the city’s worsening garbage problem, which recently turned deadly following a massive trash slide at the Binaliw Landfill that claimed 38 lives.
Reducing the load on landfills
By composting food scraps and garden waste at the household level, Archival believes the city can cut down the amount of trash sent to landfills by 25 to 30 tons every single day.
Currently, Cebu City relies on disposal sites in Consolacion and will soon use a site in Aloguinsan. Keeping "wet" waste in the mountains means fewer trucks have to haul heavy loads across the city.
“In the upland barangays, we are urging them to just compost so that the waste will no longer be brought to the landfill,” the mayor said.
New strategy for city centers
While mountain residents are asked to compost, those living in the lowlands are being directed to focus on "segregation"—separating recyclables from regular trash.
The city is ramping up operations at Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) in three key areas:
* Carbon Public Market
* Block 27 in Barangay Mabolo
* South Road Properties (SRP)
At these sites, segregated waste can be shredded and processed. This helps the city stay under the strict 150-ton daily limit currently allowed at the Consolacion landfill.
A plea for patience
Archival acknowledged that many residents and barangay captains are frustrated with the current "interval-based" collection system, where trash is only picked up on certain days. He explained that because landfill space is limited, the city simply cannot haul all the garbage at once.
“With the interval system, they also need to understand that we really cannot throw everything away all at once. These are circumstances that we have to endure,” Archival said.
The Mayor asked for the public’s cooperation and patience as these new waste reforms are rolled out, noting that while the situation is improving, a total solution will take time. (CAV)