The 10 tons of waste dumped in an open field in barangay Guba, Cebu City, was shredded biodegradable garbage intended for composting into fertilizer.
But the wet, stinking piles of almost-raw garbage were not completely processed, said Cebu City Councilor Nida Cabrera, who heads the environmental committee and solid waste management.
They should have been dry compost that was properly treated.
Cebu Daily News asked a second opinion from former city councilor Nestor Archival, who daily composts large volumes of trash from Carbon market at his “Eco-House in Talamban.
He said the stench was probably due to leachate, or liquid produced from decomposing garbage.
He suggested that the garbage should be tested first, and to absorb the liquid using saw dust.
“The residents complaints are valid because the garbage still has leachate,” said Archival.
He commended Cebu City for embarking on large-scale composting and its plan to give the end product—soil fertilizer— to farmers.
But the right process has to be followed.
It takes at least 50 days for biodegradable waste to turn into compost under ideal conditions.
But City Hall dump trucks brought semi-processed trash from the Inayawan landfill that was processed for only one week.
“It’s not yet fully processed. That is why there is still leachate and the foul smell is still there,” Cabrera told Cebu Daily News.
Cabrera said the city had planned to make the area in Guba a station for organic compost to help farmers in Guba and other mountain areas.
Mayor Michael Rama agreed.
“We have already resolved before that what would reach Guba should only be the shredded and processed garbage and that it would be prepared by the City Agriculture Department for composting to be used to fertilize the area,” he said.
Rama said Guba was not identified as a landfill. It is managed by the City Agriculture Department and not the Department of Public Service or the City Engineering Department.
He said only processed waste should reach Guba, not raw garbage.
“There was an instance, however, that during the first day, maybe out of eagerness, it was not yet ready for Guba and it was sent there but after that, it was already processed,” said Rama.
Engineer Randy Navarro, officer in charge of the Inayawan landfill, said all factors were considered including the wastewater of the shredded materials.
“We inspected the area to see if the soil in Guba could hold the wastewater and the City Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) approved that we could send processed materials there but limited to only 15 tons per area,” Navarro said.
Residents in sitio Catibes complained about the stench of 10,000 kilos of garbage dumped there last May 13. The residents said they were suffering headaches, stomach pains, vomiting and even diarrhea because of the stinking piles and feared it would pollute their artesian wells, their primary source of drinking water.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources(DENR)-7 said the city had asked permission from the agency to use the site as a nursery for compost and not raw waste in sitio Catibes. Engineer Amancio Dongkoy, regional solid waste management coordinator, said the city government didn’t need to apply for a permit if they would only deliver compost there.
But in the wake of residents’ complaints, he said DENR may investigate.
He said what happened was just a miscommunication, which has been addressed.
Cabrera had to spend P18,000 from her own funds to have the waste treated with enzymes and covered with tarpaulin sheets to reduce the stench.
Cabrera said she wanted the finished product— dry, odorless compost—put in sacks.
City agriculturist Joel Baclayon said the waste dumped in Guba may have been mistaken as processed trash. With a report from Correspondent Edison A. Delos Angeles