Archival assures garbage dumped at SRP to be removed within 90 days

Local

CEBU City residents may soon get relief from the foul odors at the South Road Properties (SRP).

Mayor Nestor Archival said the city government expects to clear the massive garbage stockpile at the SRP by the first week of July, well ahead of the 90-day cleanup period ordered by environmental authorities.

Archival made the assurance on Friday, June 19, a day after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) confirmed that Cebu City's garbage operations at the SRP violated environmental regulations and ordered the city to stop using the area as a dumping and transfer site.

“Gitagaan tag 90 days sa DENR and we will work on it. But I think we will be finished in the first week of July,” Archival said in an interview.

“The 90 days, clearing na, but sa wala pay 90 days clear na na siya. We will abide for that,” he added.

The commitment comes after the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) 7 issued a cease and desist order on June 7 against the city's garbage operations at the SRP.

The agency cited unauthorized waste dumping, environmental violations, and the absence of permits allowing the area to function as a landfill, dumping ground, or waste transfer station.

Despite the order, the DENR allowed Cebu City to continue cleanup and hauling activities to remove the accumulated waste, provided these are limited to clearing the stockpile and transporting it to authorized disposal facilities.

Under the timetable discussed during a technical conference with EMB 7, Cebu City was given between 60 and 90 days to completely remove the garbage that had accumulated at the SRP.

However, Archival said the city government intends to complete the cleanup within weeks rather than months.

He said all garbage currently being removed from the SRP is being transported directly to a permitted disposal facility in Aloguinsan.

“Ato nang idiretso ang mga basura sa landfill. Ang Aloguinsan ra gyud ang gilabayan ron sa basura sa Cebu City,” he said.

The mayor expressed confidence that the cleanup can be completed before his scheduled State of the City Address on July 6, a target previously mentioned by city officials overseeing waste management operations.

Archival also revealed that although environmental authorities had reportedly already given the go-signal for Cebu City to resume hauling waste to the landfill in Barangay Binaliw, he has yet to authorize the move because of continuing opposition.

“I understand that naa nay go-signal sa DENR nga we can already throw our garbage sa Binaliw, but wala pa na nako gihimo kay naay pipila ka mga tawo nga dili gusto,” he said.

“They don't understand nga going further makadaot na siya sa whole institution,” he added.

The Binaliw landfill, operated by Prime Waste Solutions Cebu, stopped receiving garbage after a landfill collapse on Jan. 8 that killed 36 people.

Its closure triggered a waste disposal crisis for Cebu City and neighboring local government units that depended on the facility.

Following the shutdown, Cebu City initially diverted its waste to a private landfill in Consolacion.

When that arrangement fell through, the city turned to Pond A at the SRP as a temporary transfer area, stockpiling garbage on-site before hauling it 60 kilometers away to Aloguinsan.

DENR cites violations

During a press conference on June 18, EMB 7 said inspections confirmed that the SRP site was being used for activities not covered by environmental permits.

EMB 7 Clearance and Permitting Division Chief Rizalina Saberon said the area was never authorized to operate as a landfill, dumping site, or waste transfer station.

Inspectors also found mixed waste at the site, a practice prohibited under Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

Saberon said Cebu City may continue hauling out the accumulated garbage, but can no longer operate the SRP facility as a transfer station unless it secures the required environmental clearances and permits.

The DENR has also stressed that any long-term waste management solution pursued by the city must comply with environmental laws, waste segregation requirements, and permitting regulations.

Cebu City is racing to remove the remaining stockpile and comply with the DENR order, with Archival insisting the cleanup will be completed far earlier than the agency's deadline.

“We will abide by that,” the mayor said, referring to the DENR directive. “But before the 90 days, clear na gyud na siya.”(TGP)