Consolacion sets cap on landfill intake

Local

THE town of Consolacion in northern Cebu has imposed a daily cap on the volume of garbage it will accept from neighboring cities in the wake of the Binaliw landfill collapse.

It is limiting total waste intake to 300 tons per day amid concerns over capacity, traffic, and public health.

Consolacion Mayor Teresa “Nene” Alegado said the limit applies to garbage hauled from Cebu City, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City, all of which have temporarily diverted waste to the Asian Energy landfill in Barangay Polog following the shutdown of Binaliw in Cebu City.

Alegado said the cap is well below the landfill’s original maximum allowable intake of 500 to 600 tons per day, as determined by earlier studies, but is necessary to ensure manageable operations and avoid disruptions to surrounding communities.

“Ang atong limit is only the capacity that was in the study. 500-600 tons. Akong gibahin,” Alegado said during the MyTV Openline News Media Forum on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Under the arrangement, Cebu City is allocated 100 to 150 tons per day, Lapu-Lapu City 100 tons, with the remaining volume distributed among private contractors and Mandaue City.

Alegado said Lapu-Lapu Mayor Cynthia “Cindi” Chan personally requested a higher allocation, citing the lack of alternative disposal sites. Mandaue City, she said, did not formally make a request, but its waste hauler coordinated directly with Consolacion officials.

Consolacion itself generates only 80 to 85 metric tons of waste daily, which allows the town to accommodate excess garbage from other local government units (LGUs), provided the total cap is not breached.

The landfill operates from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m., with large LGUs assigned morning delivery schedules and private haulers relegated to the afternoon to prevent congestion.

Alegado said dump truck queues previously stretched across at least three barangays, causing severe traffic.

Separate entry and exit routes have also been designated, and additional personnel deployed to enforce compliance.

Alegado warned that garbage trucks without proper lining would be denied entry, citing risks of leachate spills, foul odor, and disease.

“I will not allow trucks without lining. If waste leaks onto the roads, it contaminates the area, spreads disease, and creates foul smell, then the mayor ends up being blamed,” she said.

She added that Consolacion will strictly enforce waste segregation to ensure that unnecessary and recyclable materials do not reach the landfill.

The mayor stressed that the Asian Energy facility is a recycling landfill, and that existing landfill cells still have sufficient capacity to accommodate waste for several more years, provided limits are observed.

Earlier, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival said he would appeal to Alegado to extend Cebu City’s temporary use of the Consolacion landfill until March 31, beyond the initially agreed 30-day period.

Archival said the city is still assessing the financial implications of hauling waste to farther disposal sites, including Aloguinsan town and Bogo City, both of which are significantly farther from Cebu City.

“Aloguinsan is very far. Bogo is also far,” Archival said.

Archival said the city’s immediate strategy is to reduce the volume of garbage hauled to any landfill to cushion costs.

He cited initial gains at Carbon Market, where daily waste generation was cut from 60 tons to 30 tons, translating to savings of nearly P90,000 per day in hauling expenses.

From an average of 16 sacks of waste, some areas have reduced output to just two to three sacks, he said, following pilot shredding and waste diversion programs in Barangay Kamputhaw.

The city is now expanding the initiative to other barangays, although some have raised concerns over the lack of space for shredding facilities.

Meanwhile, Archival said the city will coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and barangays to align waste reduction efforts, including the use of part of the city’s P8 million Local Development Fund (LDF) allocation.

At least P2 million of the fund may be used to support waste reduction programs, including shredding machines, which will remain government-owned and issued to barangays based on set criteria.

“If we fail to secure an extension and no alternative site becomes viable, we will have no choice but to haul waste to Aloguinsan or Bogo,” Archival said. “But we will negotiate to keep tipping and hauling fees as low as possible, because once the P30 million contingency fund runs out, we will have a serious problem.”(TGP)