Cebu City Grapples with Escalating Garbage Crisis as Landfill Access Denied
The Cebu City Government is confronting a mounting waste management emergency, with garbage trucks—including those operated by local barangays—being blocked from entering the Asean landfill in Barangay Polog, Consolacion, on two separate occasions last month. This obstruction has exacerbated an already critical situation stemming from the closure of the Binaliw landfill, creating a perfect storm of logistical challenges for the city.
Barangay Leaders Sound Alarm Over Piling Waste
Barangay captains across Cebu City are raising urgent concerns as uncollected garbage accumulates in streets and communities. The crisis directly traces back to the tragic closure of the Binaliw landfill, which was shuttered following a devastating trash slide that claimed the lives of 36 workers. This closure has left local leaders scrambling with insufficient transport capabilities and excessively distant disposal sites, plunging the city into a sanitation emergency.
In Mambaling, one of the city's most densely populated areas, the garbage dilemma has exposed a critical shortage of operational equipment. Barangay Captain Roseller Salvador emphasized on Monday, February 9, 2026, that even his fleet of four trucks is utterly overwhelmed by the volume of waste generated daily.
"Even five trucks are not enough to handle the current load," Salvador stated bluntly. "If we fail to dispose of waste for even a single day, the environmental and health impact becomes enormous and immediate."
Logistical Nightmares: Distance and Dwindling Resources
Meanwhile, in Poblacion Pardo, Barangay Captain Danilo Lim pinpointed two primary obstacles crippling waste collection efforts:
- Prohibitive Distance: With the Binaliw facility closed, collection trucks must now undertake lengthy journeys to Consolacion. Severe traffic congestion combined with the extended route has created massive collection backlogs, leaving garbage to rot in neighborhoods.
- Shrinking Resources: Logistics are being further strained by a substantial 30 percent reduction in fuel subsidies—dropping from 500 liters to merely 350 liters per allocation. This cut severely limits how far and how often trucks can operate.
SunStar Cebu attempted to contact Cebu City Administrator Albert Tan and City Budget Officer Roseny Reyes for clarification regarding the fuel subsidy reduction but received no response at the time of reporting.
Budget Allocation Meets Practical Hurdles
Mayor Nestor Archival had previously announced a P8 million allocation for each barangay to establish localized shredding facilities as part of a waste reduction strategy. However, this initiative faces significant practical barriers, as several barangays lack appropriate locations to house such facilities.
"The City has allocated the budget, but our fundamental problem is identifying where to place the facility," Lim explained, highlighting the scarcity of available land in densely populated urban barangays.
Barangay Officials Demand Immediate and Long-Term Solutions
Barangay captains are urgently calling upon the City Government to immediately identify alternative and closer garbage disposal areas. They stress that the long travel distance—particularly to Consolacion—combined with chronic traffic congestion and limited truck availability continues to delay garbage collection unacceptably.
Furthermore, barangay leaders are advocating for comprehensive long-term planning, warning that temporary fixes will prove insufficient to address the city's worsening garbage problem. They emphasize that without a strategic, sustainable waste management plan from the City, stopgap measures will collapse under growing waste demands.
Localized Action Plans Amid Systemic Failures
Despite these systemic operational difficulties, barangay officials are strengthening local initiatives to manage waste more effectively through community-level enforcement and education.
- In Mambaling, Salvador announced the barangay will strictly enforce a "No Segregation, No Collection" policy to reduce waste volume at the source.
- In Kinasang-an, Barangay Captain Susan Enriquez said her barangay will focus on public education through intensive house-to-house visits and waste segregation seminars.
- In Poblacion Pardo, Lim is actively lobbying for nearer alternative disposal sites to cut down travel time and fuel consumption.
Barangay officials collectively warn that without a coherent long-term strategic plan from the City Government, temporary fixes will fail to sustain the city's escalating waste management needs. They are calling for the immediate identification of closer disposal sites to alleviate the immense strain on their aging truck fleets and severely limited fuel budgets.
