The transfer station at SRP. (CDN FILE PHOTO)
FOR now, Cebu City will continue using the transfer station in the South Road Properties (SRP) to dump its garbage.
According to Department of Public Services (DPS) head Roberto Cabarrubias, they have no other choice but to continue using the one-hectare area near the DPS building in the SRP while the private garbage hauler will continue bringing the dumped garbage to a still unspecified landfill.
The city will also continue to scout for another area to use as a transfer station.
“The barangays and the DPS will continue to use the transfer station at the SRP. We still have to negotiate for another transfer station. The service provider will be the one to bring the garbage from the transfer station to a landfill,” he said in an interview yesterday.
He said they were coordinating with another private entity that could provide an area to be used as a transfer station. The area is located near the Inayawan landfill and owned by Edwin Ortiz, president of EVO Ventures, Inc. Group of Companies.
The group converts trash to fuel but it also has a waste transfer station in Barangay Inayawan, which can be tapped by the city.
In November last year, Ortiz already expressed willingness to help with the city’s garbage collection woes although at that time the city was using a different transfer station also within Inayawan.
Cabarrubias said details of the deal with Ortiz still have to be decided, as the private hauler might be the one that has to contract the services of EVO.
However, it is also possible that the city government will be the one to pay rent for EVO’s transfer station. The decision, he said, will be discussed by other city officials like Mayor Tomas Osmeña, his executive assistant Francisco “Bimbo” Fernandez and General Services Office (GSO) head Ronald Malacora, who heads the city’s bids and awards committee (BAC).
Private hauler Jomara Konstruckt Corp. has, meanwhile, brought in more dump trucks to transport the dumped garbage from SRP to a landfill. The additional trucks arrived last night but Cabarrubias said he he did not know how many were added to the four trucks that Jomara has been using since Tuesday.
“Actually, we don’t care how many trucks will arrive to haul the garbage as long as the area will be cleaned and the garbage will be brought to a landfill. Our payment is based on the volume of garbage they haul and dump. We also gave them a deadline already,” he said.
Under the purchase order (PO) signed by Osmeña and Jomara’s representative Myra Lapitan dated Dec. 27, the city will pay the hauler P1,375 per ton of garbage they haul. The PO is good for 6,600 tons for a total budget of P9,075,000. This should be completed in three to four days or by the end of the year.
Under the terms of reference (TOR) for the emergency purchase agreement between the city and Jomara, the private hauler should be an operator of a sanitary landfill accredited by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or must have an existing agreement with a DENR- accredited sanitary landfill.
They should also be able to dispose solid waste at 500-600 tons per day and provide their own equipment for pushing and loading the garbage like backhoe, bulldozer and payloader as well as trucks with a capacity of 15 tons each or more. The hauler will also shoulder all expenses for the operation as well as maintenance cost of the equipment including oil, fuel, lubricants and tires.