Cebu City eyes 60km trash haul

THE refusal of neighboring towns to accept Cebu City’s garbage exposes the growing tension between a central hub and the smaller municipalities that surround it. As urban centers expand, the environmental and social costs of their consumption often overflow into neighboring communities, creating a conflict over who bears the burden of waste. This crisis highlights the fragility of local waste management systems when a primary disposal site is lost to a tragedy.

Emergency disposal measures

Cebu City is currently weighing the possibility of hauling its trash to the Municipality of Aloguinsan, located roughly 61.6 kilometers away. To finance the increased costs of long-distance transport, Mayor Nestor Archival plans to request the realignment of P30 million from City disaster funds. The City generates between 500 and 700 tons of garbage daily and is currently relying on temporary arrangements at the Asian Energy System Corp. landfill in Consolacion, managed by Prime Waste Solutions.

Limits of neighboring capacity

The search for new sites follows a firm rejection from nearby local government units during a provincial coordination meeting on Thursday, Jan. 22. Leaders from Minglanilla and Talisay City clarified that their facilities were designed for local needs and cannot sustain the massive volume generated by the city.

Mayor Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. of Talisay City stated his city could not accommodate external waste, though he offered support for traffic management for hauling routes passing through the South. Minglanilla’s stance was even more definitive, with officials describing the transfer of a large city’s environmental burden to a smaller town as fundamentally unjust. Archival acknowledged these concerns, stating, “I understand their predicament considering this is not a joke with tons of garbage.”

Consequences of the Binaliw tragedy

Cebu City’s options were severely restricted following the Jan. 8 landslide at the Binaliw landfill. The disaster resulted in the deaths of 36 people on-site and one volunteer rescuer who died later in the hospital. In the wake of the tragedy, the Environmental Management Bureau ordered the facility closed for all operations except for cleanup and rehabilitation.

The closure has not only created a logistical nightmare but a financial one. Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña previously noted that even using the Binaliw site cost the City between P500 million and P700 million annually. Hauling waste to more distant locations like Aloguinsan will likely drive these costs even higher, potentially draining funds from other essential city services.

Differing paths to a solution

The crisis has sparked a debate over immediate logistics versus long-term legislative changes. Archival is prioritizing the establishment of a transfer station within Cebu City to ease financial and logistical strain. He intends to follow up with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Monday, Jan. 26, to push for the necessary approvals.

Conversely, Osmeña believes the root of the problem is national policy. He argues that the Philippine government must pass a law allowing for modern incineration facilities. Osmeña stated, “the problem I am telling them right now is that the Philippine government has to pass a law that will allow us to be like other countries where you can have an incinerator. I can put it there at the SRP (South Road Properties), half a hectare lang.”

Decisions to watch

The City Government will meet with environmental authorities on Jan. 26 to discuss the proposed transfer station. Meanwhile, the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council must decide whether to approve the realignment of P30 million in emergency funds. These decisions will determine how long the City can sustain its current hauling operations before the mounting financial costs force a shift in strategy. (CAV)