Cebu City Council Demands Clear Plan for Garbage Crisis

The Cebu City Council has asked the city government to present clear short- and long-term plans for garbage collection and disposal as residents continue to report uncollected waste and disruptions in collection schedules.

Councilor Harold Kendrick Go pushed for the measure, which the City Council approved on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. The resolution asks Mayor Nestor Archival to submit a short-term solid waste management action plan covering the remainder of 2026 and a long-term strategy for 2026 to 2036.

Go said the city needs a defined system for handling its daily waste, particularly following disruptions caused by the closure of the Binaliw landfill and the suspension of operations at temporary waste transfer sites.

“The proposal was to ask the mayor for his long-term and short-term plan with regards to the garbage problem… We seem to be at a stage now where the city is trying to figure things out through trial and error,” Go said in an interview on SunStar Cebu’s Beyond the Headlines on Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026.

The councilor said the proposed plans should clearly identify how often garbage will be collected, how trucks and personnel will be deployed, what contingency measures will be used during equipment failures, and where the city’s waste will ultimately be disposed of.

Go said complaints have persisted in several barangays where garbage has reportedly remained uncollected for days, resulting in piles of waste and foul odors.

Changes in collection arrangements have also created confusion among residents and barangay officials, he added.

Under the collection system implemented as of July 31, barangay trucks gather household waste and bring it to designated pickup points, where private hauler Pinoy Basurero collects the garbage, generally from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Go said the city should establish and publicly communicate a dependable collection schedule so residents know when to bring out their garbage and barangays can properly coordinate waste collection.

He also stressed the need for backup equipment to prevent collection delays.

“If there’s a truck that breaks down, we should have a replacement,” he said.

The number of collection vehicles assigned to each area should also consider the size and population of individual barangays, Go said, noting that larger communities may require additional collection capacity.

Cebu City’s waste management problems intensified after the Binaliw landfill ceased operations following its collapse in January.

The city initially used the South Road Properties as a temporary waste transfer site, but the Environmental Management Bureau in Central Visayas later issued a cease and desist order, citing the site’s lack of authorization to operate as a transfer station.

The EMB also found that accumulated garbage had effectively turned the area into an open dumpsite. The city subsequently transferred its waste handling operations to the Cebu City Quarantine Center.

Although the EMB has since lifted the cease and desist order against Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Cebu, the operator of the Binaliw landfill, Cebu City has yet to immediately resume hauling its garbage to the facility as its procurement process remains unfinished.

Go questioned why Cebu City continues to face difficulties in disposing of its waste despite neighboring local governments also needing to manage their own garbage.

“If Binaliw is closed, where do Mandaue, Talisay and Lapu-Lapu dispose of their garbage?” he said.

The council-approved resolution seeks a short-term plan extending until December 2026 and a 10-year strategy covering the period from 2026 to 2036.

The long-term plan is expected to address the city’s future disposal requirements, including the identification of an Environmental Management Bureau-approved sanitary landfill.

The proposed waste management strategies must also comply with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Go said the city’s Solid Waste Management Board should take a more active role in reviewing and evaluating proposed solutions before the city commits to major projects or technologies.

He said the board should conduct feasibility studies and determine whether proposed facilities are suitable for Cebu City’s waste volume and local conditions.

“What may be good for one city might not be good for another,”Go said.

The city’s disposal capacity remains another concern.

Even if Cebu City resumes hauling waste to the Binaliw landfill, the facility is reportedly capable of accepting only about 500 tons of garbage daily. Cebu City, however, generates an estimated 600 to 700 tons of waste each day, leaving a significant volume that would still need to be handled elsewhere.

Go warned that continued delays in garbage collection could create sanitation and public health concerns, aside from affecting Cebu City’s image as a major business and tourism destination.

Under the resolution, the next step is for the Archival administration to present its immediate waste management strategy for the remainder of the year and outline a longer-term plan intended to address the city’s garbage disposal needs over the next decade.