Binaliw residents petition for action on landfill stench

File photo of the landfill in Brgy. Binaliw, Cebu City. | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Families, who live near the landfill in the mountain barangay of Binaliw in Cebu City, are asking the city government to address their concerns on the foul odor coming from the piles of trash.

At the same time, they have expressed concerns on their health due to the presence of flies in their area.  Also, they worry that the landfill will contaminate all of their ground water sources.

With this, 156 individuals grouped together to raise their concerns to City Hall.

READ: Binaliw landfill waste linked to severe water contamination in Consolacion

Members of the Sta. Ana Homeowners Association signed a petition which they handed over to acting Cebu City Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia who came to visit their place on Monday, September 2.

Very frustrated

Rosalinda Leogan, the Sta. Ana Homeowners Association president, said that they are becoming very frustrated as they continue to endure the inconveniences caused by the landfill’s operations.

READ: Cebu City cancels contract with Binaliw landfill developer

“Kaming [taga] Sta. Ana kamiy una nireklamo ana. Ang amo pangutana asa motuhop ang duga sa ila basura kay gaslig baya mi ana among duha ka deep well,” she said.

In response to the residents concerns, Garcia directed Reymarr Hijara, the head of the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO), to look into their concerns, identify possible violations committed, and submit a report within a period of three days.

Moreover, Garcia assured the residents that he would engage in a dialogue with the landfill’s management to address their concerns.

Infestation

Leogan said their worries started when the landfill started to operate in 2017.  Over time, the inconvenience that they had to endured worsened.

“Ang langaw sa una karon kabaw na sa kadako. Mao nihangyo mi ni Mayor na unta matabangan gyud mi ani nga problema sa landfill,” she said.

READ: PWS eyes legal action against former ARN shareholders

In addition, the deep wells, that they use for their laundry and to take a bath, are now contaminated.  They had the water at their deep wells checked by the Department of Health (DOH) and the agency confirmed their suspicions that the leachate coming from the landfill has already affected water quality.

However, she clarified that they have nothing against the landfill’s operations.  They are merely asking the landfill operators to comply with its promise to ensure cleanliness and control the emission of foul odor.

READ: Firm focuses on resource recovery in operation of Binaliw MRF

Leogan said that odor control measures were implemented in the past, but this only lasted for at least five months.

Waste discharge

Last August 28, Barangay Captain Ares Balaba of Brgy. Panoypoy in Consolacion town also expressed his concern over the persistent water contamination issues in Purok Manao, which they blame on the landfill’s waste discharge.

Brgy. Panoypoy is located beside Binaliw and serves as the boundary between Cebu City and Consolacion town.

He alleged that the materials recovery facility (MRF) and sanitary landfill being operated by Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PWS) Cebu is discharging untreated wastewater, causing “severe water pollution” in the neighboring areas, including Panoypoy.

“Karon, magpatabang mi. Mo-file mi og resolution nga i-pass namo ni Mayor Garcia. Magpatabang mi. Adto sad mi didto sa mayor sa amoa didto sa lungsod sa Consolacion, moptabang sad mi nga makita nila ang sitwasyon diri sa Purok Manao nga pwerte na jud ang tubig, di na gyud magamit,” Balaba said.

Resource recovery

The landfill in Brgy. Binaliw was previously operated by ARN Central Waste Management Inc. (ACI).

PWS Cebu took over the landfill’s operations in 2022 and converted the area into a MRF. The Cebu MRF – the first of its kind in the country – was inaugurated in January 2024.

The company said that they had since introduced a lot of changes in the facility’s operation, which included their focus on waste recovery to “significantly limit landfilled waste to 20 percent or even less.”

“This approach leads to reduced organic waste ending up decomposing and producing harmful methane emissions,” the company said in a statement.

In order to achieve this, PWS Cebu purchased state of the art equipment such as vibrating sieves, baler systems, magnetic separators, and an air density separator to process up to 1,000 tons of solid waste daily.

PWS said that they are committed to “fully rehabilitate the site” while “underscoring the importance of addressing severe solid waste problems through sustainable solutions.”