THE closure of the Binaliw landfill has forced the City to ration disposal slots, leaving neighborhoods with a rotating schedule and stricter segregation rules.
Cebu City residents are adjusting to a new reality where garbage trucks no longer visit daily. Following the closure of the Binaliw landfill earlier this year, the City has implemented an “interval-based” hauling system to manage a disposal crisis that has left officials juggling limited landfill capacity and deteriorating road access.
While the City Government negotiates for extended access to alternative sites, the reduction in service highlights a broader infrastructure strain that goes beyond a simple schedule change.
What is happening
The City has moved away from daily trash collection for all barangays. Under the interim system, collection trucks operate on a rotating schedule — typically Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday — with distinct rules for different areas:
Upland barangays: Collection is limited to twice a week. Residents must manage biodegradable waste on their own premises.
Urban barangays: Trucks collect waste on their designated days but often face “standby” periods. Once full, a truck must wait for its turn to dump at the landfill before it can return to the route.
To reduce the load, the City has enforced stricter segregation at the source. Recyclables, such as plastic bottles, must be separated before collection. The City has also operationalized segregation areas at the Carbon Market and is preparing additional materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to further filter waste before it reaches the trucks.For many areas, however, irregular service is not new. Even before the official implementation of the “interval-based” hauling system, daily collection had effectively stopped in numerous barangays. In the south district, neighborhoods like Barangay Bulacao had already shifted to a weekly collection schedule, citing the logistical difficulty and distance required to transport waste to the Binaliw landfill.
The root of the slowdown is a math problem: the City generates more trash than it is currently allowed to dump.
Since the Binaliw landfill collapsed and closed on Jan. 8, the City has diverted waste to a private facility in Consolacion. However, this is not a one-to-one replacement. While Cebu City produces approximately 350 to 400 tons of waste daily (down from 500 tons due to reduction efforts), Consolacion Mayor Teresa Alegado has capped the city’s disposal allowance at 100 to 150 tons per day.
This bottleneck creates a chain reaction. When the daily limit is reached, trucks cannot empty their loads. If a truck cannot empty its load, it cannot collect new garbage the next morning. This results in the “standby” delays described by Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival, where loaded trucks sit idle until the next disposal window opens.
The city’s infrastructure
The crisis exposes the fragility of the city’s waste infrastructure, which depends heavily on road conditions and external partnerships.
Logistics complicate the limited dumping capacity. The route to the Consolacion facility is prone to congestion and deterioration. Heavy rains in early February rendered parts of the access road dangerous, forcing cancellations of scheduled hauling for barangays like San Nicolas Proper.
This unpredictability creates public health risks. Barangay captains report that missed collection windows lead to rapid waste accumulation. In dense neighborhoods, even a one-day delay can result in piles of uncollected refuse, raising concerns about sanitation and odor.
Questions regarding Binaliw
While officials manage the logistics of the interval system, questions persist regarding the long-term status of the Binaliw landfill.
Councilor Joel Garganera has raised concerns about Mayor Nestor Archival’s stance on the closed facility, suggesting the mayor may be anticipating a return to the site.
Garganera noted in an interview with SunStar’s Beyond the Headlines on Feb. 10, 2026, that Archival mentioned the existence of “three remaining hectares” at the facility just days after the Jan. 8 trash slide.
“On that day, six bodies were still being retrieved, yet he was already talking about the possibility of using the remaining three hectares that were not included in the trash slide,” Garganera said.
His converstation with Archival happened when search and rescue operations were still ongoing in Binaliw.
Garganera said the mayor’s confidence in reopening a portion of the landfill raises questions.
“Maybe he knows something that we don’t know. Why is he so positive that the landfill can be reopened using the remaining three hectares?” he said.
The councilor said the City should first clarify the status of the investigation into the trash slide, including whether the area has already been declared safe and whether accountability issues have been resolved.
“What is the status of the investigation? Is the area already safe? Has it been completed? Have the victims been given justice?” Garganera said.
He stressed that reopening any part of the Binaliw landfill should not be considered unless safety assessments are completed and findings of the investigation are made public.
What to watch
The current arrangement with the Consolacion landfill is temporary and expected to end in March. This approaches a hard deadline for the City to secure a new disposal site or negotiate a significant extension.
Observers should monitor the progress of road repairs along the Pit-os to Consolacion route, which officials are fast-tracking to create alternative access for heavy trucks. Additionally, the success of the new MRFs at Bagsakan will determine if the City can suppress waste volume enough to fit within the strict disposal caps.
The central question remains: If the Consolacion agreement concludes in March without a fully operational replacement for Binaliw, where will the city’s 400 tons of daily refuse go? / JJL