As contract with hauler ends: Garbage crisis looming in city

CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City is running the risk of a garbage crisis as its contract with hauler Jomara Konstruct Corp. ends this Saturday, July 20.

Jomara is in charge of transporting the city’s trash from the transfer station in Barangay Inayawan to the landfill outside the city.

And while the city can continue collecting trash from the streets and households even without Jomara, it will only be a matter of time before the transfer station in Inayawan will be filled.

At present, 19 city-owned trucks collect garbage from the streets and households from 4 p.m. to 12 midnight and from 12 midnight to 8 a.m.

Joel Biton, head of the city’s Department of Public Services, told The Freeman that the city actually had to extend Jomara’s contract, which was supposed to expire on July 10. He said the city might do an emergency procurement to hire the services of a contractor but this will have to go through the City Council for approval.

The city may have to act fast in coming up with measures to a looming crisis but Councilor Eduardo Rama, chairman of the City Council’s committee on public services, said he is yet to discuss with the executive department the plans on garbage.

One option the city can take for an emergency procurement, Rama said, is to rebid the P65 million contract it signed with ARN Central Waste Management Inc., owner of the landfill in Barangay Binaliw.

Earlier, the city and ARN agreed to cancel the contract owing to legal and environmental issues.

But Labella said he does not want garbage dumped at Binaliw following complaints from residents at the mountain barangay.

The residents would have wanted the government to shut the landfill down owing to the “unbearable stench” reportedly coming from it.

But Labella said he will allow ARN to develop the 10-hectare facility in Binaliw if it sticks to the original proposal of establishing a material recovery facility and waste-to-energy facility.

“We have to look after the welfare of our constituents in Binaliw, Pit-os, Bacayan, Talamban. It’s saddening to note that the garbage from Subangdaku, from Mandaue, from Lapu-Lapu are being dumped there in Binaliw landfill,” Labella told reporters. —  JMO (FREEMAN)