Mayor seeks global help

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival has appealed to global sustainability experts attending the 2026 International Conference on Resource Sustainability (icRS 2026) to help the city confront its worsening garbage and water crises, as the city continues to lose more than ?10 million daily through landfill disposal costs and non-revenue water losses.

Speaking before international researchers and environmental advocates at Bai Hotel in Mandaue City yesterday, Archival emphasized that sustainability is a responsibility owed to future generations.

“Cebu City has a dream … a dream that Cebu City in 2035 would be a sustainable, smart and inclusive city,” he said. “I know you guys are all environmentalists… you want to take care of the environment and you want to take care of the people and the planet.”

Archival laid out the city’s solid waste problem in stark terms.

“The city of Cebu has about 1.1 million population. And right now, the garbage—mainstream, is about 700 tons a day… I’m a new mayor, and for the past many years, the way we process waste is landfilling—and landfilling, I think all of you know, is not sustainable,” he said.

He explained that hauling waste to Aloguinsan, about 80 kilometers from Cebu City, costs the local government approximately ?4.2 million daily.

“?4.2 million—we are throwing this money away. Plus the fact that in a landfill, there are a lot of leachate, and what we call greenhouse gas—methane gas which is about 27 times potent than that of carbon dioxide. This is not actually sustainable,” Archival stressed.

To address the problem, the mayor said his administration aims to divert between 60 and 80 percent of the city’s waste away from landfills, beginning with a pilot project at the South Road Properties (SRP) EcoStation.

“Right now, we are doing a small model in SRP. I would like to invite you before you go home, to visit the place, to comment that place, to critique the place so that you guys can tell us how it should be done. We need some suggestions from you, the scientists,” Archival urged.

He said the EcoStation is currently testing composting methods and black soldier fly propagation as part of its waste-diversion efforts.

“We are propagating them so that this fly will eat these garbage, produce larvae and produce what we call maggot… and we are going to use these maggots to feed the animals and of course fish,” he added.

Cebu’s garbage crisis intensified following the collapse of the Binaliw landfill in January this year, which claimed the lives of 36 workers and forced the city to transport waste to Aloguinsan at significantly higher costs.

The Commission on Audit has repeatedly flagged Cebu City over ballooning landfill expenses, citing weak enforcement of waste segregation at source and the underutilization of materials recovery facilities.

Environmental groups have likewise warned that unmanaged plastic waste and discarded sachets continue to clog waterways, worsen flooding, and aggravate the city’s solid waste problem.

Turning to water security, Archival underscored the urgency of addressing inefficiencies in the city’s water distribution system.

“We know for a fact that without water, we will die. Cebu (City) needs about 600 thousand cubic meters a day, but the utility (MCWD) can only provide us 300 thousand cubic meters,” Archival disclosed.

Of the 300,000 cubic meters supplied daily, he said a substantial portion is lost before reaching consumers.

“And of the 300 thousand cubic meters daily, the 100 thousand, we call it as waste—the non-revenue water,” he said.

The Metropolitan Cebu Water District has consistently reported non-revenue water losses ranging from 30 to 40 percent of total supply, largely due to leaks, pilferage, and aging infrastructure.

These losses not only drain financial resources but also undermine the city’s ability to meet growing demand.

“That is why I am focusing on water inefficiency. And I want inputs from you of things being done in your country so that we can also adopt this in the city,” the mayor said.

Archival also highlighted his “One Tumbler at a Time” campaign, which he launched after noticing the volume of bottled water consumed at City Hall.

“One day, everyone in Cebu City—all 7,000 employees—will have its own tumbler,” he said.

He concluded his address with a direct appeal to conference participants.

“These are the two important I am sharing you now, garbage and water. And I hope that after this conference, you can probably help us find ways and look at things on how it should be done, so that we can have a better way on water efficiency and of course, what we call garbage processing.”

The International Conference on Resource Sustainability (icRS) is a flagship global forum sponsored by Resources, Conservation & Recycling (Elsevier), one of the world’s leading journals on sustainability research.

Since its inception in 2015, the conference has been hosted in Beijing, Adelaide, Guildford, and Bangkok. The Cebu edition, co-hosted by De La Salle University and the University of San Jose-Recoletos, marked the first time the Philippines hosted the event.

Its theme, “Taking Care of a More Sustainable Future,” reflects the global consensus that sustainability requires balancing present needs with the rights and welfare of future generations.

Prior to the conference, the Cebu City Government hosted Mayor Al Arquillano of San Francisco, Camotes Island, and his delegation for a visit to the SRP EcoStation, where both parties exchanged insights on sustainable waste management practices.

Archival personally welcomed Arquillano and his team, underscoring the city’s openness to inter-local government collaboration on environmental concerns.

During the visit, city officials presented Cebu City’s ongoing waste-diversion initiatives, including programs on segregation, recycling, composting, and resource recovery aimed at reducing dependence on landfill disposal.

Arquillano, a recipient of the United Nations’ Sasakawa Award for Disaster Risk Reduction, brought with him a recognized commitment to environmental resilience and community-level sustainability. His visit underscored the growing interest among local government units in adopting and learning from one another’s environmental programs. — (FREEMAN)