WASTE WOES: Cebu City resumes dumping garbage in Aloguinsan

Local

CEBU City has resumed hauling its garbage to Aloguinsan town after temporarily stockpiling waste at the South Road Properties (SRP).

Mayor Nestor Archival Sr. confirmed on Monday, June 1, that garbage trucks had resumed transporting waste to Aloguinsan, ending the city's short-term reliance on SRP while officials continue efforts to address the solid waste crisis triggered by the closure of the Binaliw landfill.

“Nibalik sa Aloguinsan ang paglabay sa basura karon adlawa. Ang basura [sa SRP] gipakuha na,” Archival said during a press conference.

This development comes days after the city faced criticism over the accumulation of garbage at SRP, where collected waste had been temporarily stored after Cebu City exhausted its contracted disposal volume in Aloguinsan, and while discussions on reopening portions of the Binaliw landfill remained unresolved.

Archival said the arrangement with Aloguinsan is based on the volume of waste disposed of rather than the number of hauling days.

Despite the resumption of hauling operations, the mayor said it may still take between 15 and 30 days to completely clear the garbage that accumulated at SRP.

“We might complete that in the next 15 to 30 days,” he said.

The temporary stockpiling at SRP highlighted the continuing strain on Cebu City's waste management system nearly five months after the deadly trash slide at the Binaliw landfill on January 8 that killed 36 people and forced the suspension of landfill operations.

In response to the worsening situation, Archival signed Executive Order No. 10 on May 6, declaring a state of solid waste management emergency in Cebu City and authorizing urgent measures to divert and dispose of the city's daily garbage output.

The use of SRP as a temporary waste staging area has also drawn concern from members of the Cebu City Council.

During the council's May 26 regular session, Councilor Joel Garganera called on the mayor to submit within 30 days a transition plan that would end the use of SRP for garbage storage.

Garganera warned that continued dependence on temporary disposal sites could expose the city to another environmental and public health crisis if long-term solutions are not immediately pursued.

The councilor also raised concerns about unresolved issues surrounding the Binaliw landfill, including the lack of a publicly released final investigation report on the January tragedy, questions over risk assessments conducted after recent natural disasters, and confusion over the partial lifting of the landfill's suspension.

He likewise questioned the condition of the landfill's leachate management system and urged greater transparency in decisions related to waste disposal operations.

While acknowledging the city's efforts to address the immediate garbage problem, Garganera stressed that Cebu City remains heavily dependent on short-term waste management measures that are insufficient to handle the volume of waste generated daily.

The council ultimately adopted an amended motion expressing "grave concern" over the continued use of SRP as a dumpsite due to its potential legal, health, and environmental implications and requested the mayor to present a transition plan within 30 days.(TGP)