Solid waste board to order halt in mixed waste collection

CEBU, Philippines — While awaiting the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau Region 7 (DENR EMB-7) to investigate the latest complaint concerning the Binaliw landfill, the city’s Department of Public Services (DPS) will be asked to stop collecting mixed waste.

Emma Ramas, chair of the Cebu City Solid Waste Management Board, said that while they wait for DENR-EMB-7 to conduct investigation, she has to ask DPS stop collecting mixed waste while also hoping for the other local government units that are sending their wastes to the Binaliw landfill to do their part.

Last month, ARN Central Waste Management, Inc. (ACI), asked the DENR-EMB-7 to investigate the landfill, as well as to issue notices against Prime Integrated Waste Solutions, Inc. (PWS) after allegedly failing to comply with the amended Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

ACI is a Cebu-based waste management company that owns the largest private sanitary landfill and materials recovery in Cebu that processes 1,000 tons of solid waste every day.

On July 20, 2022, PWS, a subsidiary of Prime Infrastructure Capital Inc. agreed to purchase ACI shares through a Share Purchase Agreement.

A year later, Prime Infra took over the management and operations of the company, promising to upgrade the facility to world-class standards.

While ACI could process 1,000 tons of solid waste every day, Ramas said based on her recollection, PWS blessed their equipment from Sweden that can bale or compact the waste.

“They will stop the baled basura until such time that the aviation gas processing facility will be operational,” Ramas said.

Further, based on Ramas’ recollection, it only has a capacity of 300 tons per day and Cebu City alone sends 585 tons average daily to the said waste facility, while also accepting wastes from the cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Danao and other areas around Cebu.

“The capacity to bale is only 300, so the rest of the capacity of the waste would surely go to that area that is what we are smelling…that’s what is happening in the landfill,” Ramas suspects.

She said they already showed the video to EMB and will make a follow-up on it.

Ramas also added that based on their discussions with PWS, they have a composting facility, although said “if it is functioning, there should be no smell in that landfill.”

At the moment, Ramas said she will strongly ask the city’s DPS to stop what they are presently doing –collecting mixed waste and sending it to Prime.

“We should now go back to our ordinance on segregation. It seems that DPS is resisting that rule because they say they will just continue collecting mixed waste…I will write a letter so they cannot anymore say, that is not our official stand,” Ramas added.

In their next meeting, Ramas said they should be discussing the waste categories and for the city government to have separate contact agreements for different kinds of waste.

“A collector for biowaste–and should not be sent to the landfill, it should be sent to the processing facility for biowaste. Then another thing, a separate collector for recyclables–should not be sent to the landfill, instead sold to our recyclers. Third, contract for the waste that should go out to the landfill and fourth contract for Special waste-hazardous waste should not go to the landfill,” Ramas said.

While they can do this in Cebu City, Ramas hopes the other LGUs utilizing the Binaliw landfill will also do their part.

“I know for a fact, Mandaue has diverted their plastic waste, but the rest of it still goes to Prime. We all need to work together, but if the landfill themselves will say we will not accept anymore mixed waste, they we will all be forced to do our jobs,” Ramas stressed.

Meanwhile, a source said, PWS is ready show DENR its materials recovery facility line along with wastewater parameters being up to standard as proof of its segregation.

Regarding the landfill itself, they attributed to the previous management, but stressed that there is already an ongoing rehabilitation of the site.

When PWS acquired the site, there was already several years of waste in the area and they continue to work on re-processing it accordingly while also accommodating fresh wastes reportedly through their state of the art equipment. PWS is also ready to show their “bio-mining plans.” — /ATO (FREEMAN)