Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and Japan International Cooperation Agency representatives inspect the septage treatment plant after its inauguration at the North Reclamation Area. (CDN PHOTO/TONEE DESPOJO)
Cebu City’s own Septage Treatment Plant (STP) at the North Reclamation Area is now officially ready for use.
Mayor Michael Rama led the inauguration yesterday alongside representatives from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japanese firm Amcon Inc. The STP was acquired through JICA at no cost to the city government but the facility will be operated by Amcon Inc. for two years before turning it over to the city government in 2016.
The facility has been accepting wastes from four private haulers in the city for free for almost two months now but the city government could not collect tipping fees yet pending the creation of the Cebu City Septage Management Board (SMB).
The SMB will propose the amount of tipping fee that will be collected from haulers.
Under Ordinance 2398 authored by Councilor Nida Cabrera, the SMB will be responsible for the implementation of the City’s Septage Management Plan. The ordinance lays down the city’s septage management program and imposes penalties for violations.
The ordinance was already approved by the City Council but it still has to go through Mayor Michael Rama.
“It shouldn’t be long. We are just waiting for the ordinance to be submitted to the mayor for his consideration. If approved, mayor will then appoint the SMB members who should immediately convene,” said lawyer Jade Ponce, head of the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB).
In anticipation of electric and water bills that would cost the city government, Randy Navarro, head of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), said they plan a payment scheme so that can start collecting fees.
“We in the SWMB, will try if we can be the one to create the payment scheme. If the creation of the SMB will take long, the haulers will be continue dumping for free and we have bills to pay,” Navarro said.
Initially, the SWMB proposed a P200-P250 tipping fee per cubic meter.
The facility can process 200 cubic meters of septic waste a day and has been receiving an average of 175 cubic meters from the private haulers a day during the testing period.
The STP utilizes the “Volute Dewatering Press” technology which separates the liquid from the solid waste which will become the sludge cake that will be transported to the city’s composting facility at Inayawan which will be mixed with biodegradable wastes for composting.
The fertilizer will be used by the City Agriculture Department for its nurseries and the city’s urban greening project.
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