Archival weighs permit action against Binaliw landfill operator

CEBU City Mayor Nestor Archival said the Cebu City Government is studying whether to revoke the business permit of Prime Integrated Waste Solutions (PWS) after the operator refused to accept the City’s garbage despite partial operation approval at the Binaliw landfill.

Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, Archival said any action against PWS must consider the potential impact on private waste haulers using the facility.

“We are still looking into it. If we revoke their permit, our private garbage collectors might also be affected because they would have nowhere to dispose of their waste. We have to balance everything,” Archival said.

Council caution

Archival said the City should have resumed dumping in Binaliw after the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 granted PWS a partial lifting of its cease and desist order to operate one landfill cell while rehabilitation continues. However, he noted that privilege speeches by some City Council members made PWS cautious about resuming operations.

“When EMB gave the partial lifting, they said we could already send our garbage to Binaliw. But because of the privilege speeches of some councilors, PWS decided not to accept the City’s waste first and instead wait for a full lifting. I think they became cautious because they did not want to become controversial again,” Archival said.

He clarified that he was not blaming the entire City Council, noting that opposition from a few councilors delayed waste disposal and caused financial losses for the City.

“The council itself did not stop it. There were only a few councilors who opposed it. If you look at it, the City is suffering huge financial losses because of the delay,” Archival said.

Waste diversion

Despite continuing to haul garbage to Aloguinsan at P6,000 per ton in hauling and tipping fees, Archival said waste diversion efforts are helping reduce daily disposal volume.

The number of barangays practicing waste segregation increased from 10 to 18, allowing the City’s materials recovery facility (MRF) to process 25 tons of waste daily, up from 20 tons.

“If we continue hauling to Aloguinsan, which costs around P6,000 per ton, then 25 tons multiplied by P6,000 is already a significant amount of savings,” Archival said.

Alternative solutions

To further reduce disposal costs, the City plans to expand its MRF by acquiring additional composting machines, sorting equipment and land for waste processing.

The City is also studying the acquisition of a refuse-derived fuel machine using thermal decomposition technology for mixed plastic and residual waste. Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña proposed studying an incinerator, which the City Environment and Natural Resources Office is reviewing.

“For now, however, most of our waste still has to be brought to the landfill,” Archival said.

Collection system

The City recently shifted from requiring barangays to haul waste to a central transfer station to a clustered collection system, where private contractor Pinoy Basurero picks up garbage from designated exchange points.

Archival admitted the system encountered initial difficulties after its July 31 rollout because uncompacted waste limited truck capacity, prompting him to instruct the contractor to establish an open compaction area.

Meanwhile, cleanup operations continue at the South Road Properties transfer station, which was used after the Jan. 8 Binaliw trash slide killed 36 people. Archival expects the remaining stockpile to be cleared within 10 to 15 days. / CAV