Use of waste facilities in city not maximized

Why is Cebu City Hall clamoring for more budget for garbage disposal when existing waste processing facilities haven’t been operating in full capacity?

This was asked by some city councilors during an executive session yesterday  on the city’s garbage collection and disposal woes.

Representatives from Mansei Recycle Systems Co., Ltd., Bio Nutrient Waste Management Inc., and EVO Ventures, Inc. attended the executive session.

They said they processed some of the city’s wastes before but  either their contracts were not renewed or their facilities haven’t been used to its fullest extent.

According to Takeshi Konishi, representative of Mansei who has been operating a plastic-to-fuel facility inside the Inayawan Landfill, they can process up to five tons of plastic per day but currently, they just get  two to three tons.

Councilor Nida Cabrera, who heads the council’s committee on environment, pointed out that the facility doesn’t have enough plastic to recycle  daily since most wastes collected by the city are already mixed when it goes to the Waste Transfer Station.

The station is where smaller barangay trucks transfer their trash loads to commercial haulers to bring it to Cthe Consolacion landfill.

Ma. Emma Rammas of Bio Nutrient said they were told by City Hall officials to stop operating their biodegradable waste composting site, which is 100 meters from the Inayawan landfill, since January after the  closure of the landfill.

“There is place to expand to. We can double our capacity. Right now, we’re doing easily 60 tons. We have 1,500 tons of seed compost which can process all of Cebu City’s wastes of properly segregated and delivered to us,” Ramas added.

But since the city stopped sending wastes to them, their facility is not operating. They just maintain their compost “hoping that one day, we will be able to help Cebu City again.”

“Both of you (and Mansei) have the same problem – no basura to process. It’s just fascinating that these things can be done. It’s already there and it has been used in the past,” said Councilor Margot Osmena.

Cabrera said the city can actually save on tipping fees at the private landfill in Consolcaion, for private haulers and transportation cost, if the city just properly segregates wastes and uses both the plastic-to-fuel facility and the composting.

No official from the executive department or mayor’s office attended yesterday’s session.

Mayor Michael Rama earlier barred them from joining the discussion unless the council lifts the deferment of the city’s P2.8 billion Supplemental Budget 1 (SB1) which includes an P87 million allocation for garbage collection and disposal fees.