Cebu City garbage disposal costs pegged at P216 M

AN additional P102.9 million is needed to fund the Cebu City government’s garbage collection and disposal program for next year, the city’s Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) said last Thursday.

Janeses Ponce, who heads the board, said if the council approves the additional funding, the Department of Public Services (DPS) will receive P216.4 million for next year, up from this year’s P113.5 million appropriation.

He said the bigger budget would fund the disposal of the city’s garbage in privately owned facilities like the landfill in Consolacion town built by Asian Energy Systems Corp.

“That’s what I’m worried about. We will have to continue payment of tipping fee in the absence of an alternative means t dispose of our garbage. The Consolacion (landfill) was supposed to be just temporary,” Ponce said.

Ponce said the city’s garbage concerns could have been addressed if the council approved the P4 billion waste to energy program of Greenergy Solutions Inc. (GSI).

But due to questions on the company’s track record, the council opted to table GSI’s proposal.

“GSI is still interested but they said their proposal is unlikely because of the political situation,” Ponce said.

Ponce said the closure and remediation of the Inayawan Sanitary landfill is a long term goal which the Rama administration wanted to embark on. He said they are working on updating the closure plan crafted in 2000.

“We are still hoping that the GSI waste to energy program will continue because the taxpayers don’t have to spend on that,” he said.

Ponce said contrary to the council’s earlier questions in a public hearing with GSI officials, the waste to energy facility proposed at the Inayawan Sanitary landfill won’t compete with the Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) in some barangays.

He said there is also enough garbage to process even if GSI operations will require 1,000 tons of garbage per day.

Aside from new garbage brought into the landfill’s transfer station, the 15-hectare landfill also accumulated 1.4 tons of garbage since it began in 1998. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac