The Cebu city government needs at least P100 million to implement a “remediation plan” for the Inayawan sanitary landfill, which was closed in December last year.
“We will push for its funding again in the next supplemental budget,” said Councilor Edu Rama Jr., chairman of the council’s public services committee.
The plan includes proper sloping of existing garbage, soil covering, methane gas disposal, repair of drainage canals, fencing and landscaping.
It has to be implemented after the city comes up with its closure plan for the landfill, which was operating beyond capacity, before it was closed in December. Segregation of urban wastes is still a problem.
The City Council authorized Mayor Michael Rama last month to bid out a P2-million landfill closure plan.
Funding for a remediation plan was part of the mayor’s 2012 budget proposal, but it was not approved by the City Council due to a projected funding shortage.
Councilor Rama said that after the landfill closure plan is completed, the city has to work on its remediation plans to comply with Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) requirements.
Mayor Rama ordered the disposal only of segregated garbage at the Inayawan site starting April 2011. He ordered the landfill closed to new wastes on Nov. 7, 2011.
The city’s garbage is now brought to a private facility in Pulog, Consolacion town, north Cebu.
Councilor Rama said the temporary transfer station had to be closed after two months of use because of massive scouring. The area also lacked a roof and a ramp for faster garbage transfer. Rama said the mayor has authorized the use of part of the Inayawan landfill for this.
The mayor and other city delegates, including Councilor Rama, visited Yokohama, Japan, last month to observe their garbage management system.
Yokohama Mayor Fumiko Hayashi and garbage experts will visit Cebu City to extend technical assistance, said Rama.
“It is always feasible to fix the landfill but it will be expensive,” said Councilor Rama.
The Yokohama city government spent P20 billion for its incinerator and the maintenance of a 100-hectare landfill, which is expected to last for 50 years, he said.