Cebu landfill landslide exposes ‘broken waste management,’ groups say

CEBU, Philippines – Environmentalist groups have called out the government for its “inconsistent” enforcement of the country’s waste management laws after a landfill in Cebu City collapsed, causing a landslide that has killed four people as of Saturday, January 10.

“This shows a grim picture of our broken waste management system that has failed Filipinos and communities once again,” Marian Ledesma of Greenpeace Philippines said in a statement.

The landslide occurred at the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City on Thursday, January 8. Officials said that factors like rain softening the soil, the September 30 Cebu earthquake causing the movement of rock formations, and the piling up of garbage at the landfill contributed to the collapse.

A materials recovery facility, where some 100 workers of Binaliw landfill operator Prime Integrated Waste Solutions were stationed, was hit by the landslide, prompting search and rescue efforts for employees still missing. 

As of this writing, officials have identified 34 people still missing while 12 have been rescued.

According to Ledesma, the incident is reminiscent of the Payatas tragedy in July 2000, when more than 200 residents died after a large garbage dump collapsed at the Payatas dumpsite in Quezon City.

“The Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 (Republic Act No. 9003)—a law passed after the Payatas tragedy—was primarily designed to ensure waste prevention through source reduction and segregation, but enforcement has been inconsistent,” Ledesma added.

The Movement for a Livable Cebu (MLC) echoed Ledesma’s statement, stating that the incident was a “tragedy of our [Cebuanos’] making.”

“Twenty-five years after [Republic Act No. 9003’s] passage, progress is minimal. While local government units have produced the mandated 10-year solid waste management plans, too many remain just blueprints without action,” Joel Lee, MLC’s executive director, said in their statement.

Lee pointed out that since 2019, Cebu has sent around 600 tons of mixed garbage to the Binaliw landfill, spending at least P50 million a month for transport and disposal of said garbage to the site.

The MLC executive director highlighted that residents in Barangay Binaliw, the location of the landfill, have long complained about the stench, flies, untreated wastewater leachate, deep well water contamination and other health issues resulting from the accumulation of garbage in the area.

The MLC proposed an independent probe into the cause of the landslide, a crisis-management plan for the diversion of waste with waste picker cooperatives and barangay officials, and an audit of the local government’s 10-year plans, “where authentic community participation is a key metric for funding and approval.”

Greenpeace Philippines, for its part, called on the national government to fully implement the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act by enforcing waste prevention measures and amending the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law to set clear targets for plastic reduction and implementing reuse systems.

The environmental group also said that corporations responsible for consumer goods and disposable packaging should be held accountable for escalating the waste problem. For them, these companies must be mandated to reduce plastic production and use, and shift to refill and reuse systems.

As of this writing, rescue operations are ongoing at the Binaliw landfill site and the city is looking for temporary transfer stations for Cebu City’s garbage while the landfill remains inoperable. – Rappler.com