Installation of integrated waste mgt hubs pushed

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu Provincial Government is eyeing the establishment of an integrated waste management hub to consolidate recycling, recovery, and other waste management activities in strategic areas of the province, as it grapples with limited landfill capacity and inadequate waste segregation.

The proposed project, dubbed the Integrated Waste Management Project in the Cebu Metropolitan Area or GX-PARK Cebu, will undergo a feasibility study starting Sept. 11, 2026, with funding support from the Japanese government.

Elizar Sabinay, executive assistant V of the Cebu Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), presented the proposed project during the Cebu Provincial Solid Waste Management Board meeting on August 19.

Sabinay said the province’s rapid population and urban growth has increasingly placed pressure on its infrastructure and development planning, including its capacity to manage waste.

“Number one problem that we have now in Cebu is our rapid growth and urban growth overwhelms development, overwhelms planning, overwhelms our infrastructure, and it costs us a lot,” Sabinay said.

“Our solution now is the establishment of the Philippine Transformation Park. This is a GX park,” he added.

The proposed GX Park will be developed as an integrated resource recovery system, bringing various waste management activities into one area rather than relying solely on disposal or waste-to-energy solutions.

Sabinay said the provincial government recognizes waste-to-energy as one possible solution but wants to pursue a more comprehensive approach that prioritizes recycling and composting.

“GXPARC should be designed as an integrated resource recovery system. Shifts paradigm, get the traditional waste of energy, but prioritizing recycling and composting,” he said.

The project is intended to address several concerns, including increasing waste volumes, limited recycling, landfill capacity constraints, inadequate segregation at source, costly enforcement of Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, and marine and coastal pollution.

Sabinay noted that increasing population also means increasing waste generation, saying, “the more the people in Cebu, the more the waste. Because every person produces waste, and limited recycling and depletion.”

Under the proposed GX Park, recycling, residual waste management, and hazardous waste management would be integrated within a single facility or hub.

“That’s why it is called GXPARK. We do recycling, we do residual, we do hazardous waste, everything. We do it in just one area,” Sabinay said.

The feasibility study is being implemented by Japan-based Guun Co., Ltd., with SM Prime Holdings Inc. identified as a partner company. The proposed consortium will also include local waste management service providers.

The project is envisioned to be implemented through a public-private partnership with local government units in Cebu.

The proposed technology components include fermenting and drying of waste, PE/PP pelletizing and fluff production, compression of PET bottles, used cooking oil filtering, and disassembly and shredding of electronic waste.

The project will cover municipal waste, commercial waste from malls, office buildings and factories, as well as electronic waste.

Sabinay said the province had earlier proposed the project, followed by a visit from Japan’s environment minister in May.

On June 26, the project secured technical funding, which he described as a small but important starting point for determining whether the proposed GX Park is ready for global implementation.

“The amount is small, but at least it’s the start. The technical funding will give us an idea if the GX Park is global ready,” Sabinay said.

Three possible areas have been identified for the proposed GX Parks: Danao City for northern Cebu, Cebu City for central Cebu, and an area in southern Cebu that has yet to be finalized.

Under the proposal, participating LGUs would provide at least one hectare of land located near a national highway as part of the requirements for the project.

Beyond waste processing, the project also seeks to promote waste segregation at source through public awareness programs and human resource development for the waste management sector, including possible personnel dispatches to Japan.

The project is expected to reduce the volume of waste sent to landfills while helping address problems associated with wastewater, odors, and greenhouse gas emissions. It also aims to produce fluff refuse-derived fuel as an alternative fuel source that could reduce coal consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Sabinay said the province is pursuing the GX Park as part of a broader shift in how Cebu approaches waste management, not only on disposal but also on recovering resources and reducing the environmental burden of waste. – IHM (CEBU NEWS)