City covering garbage in dumpsite with soil

CEBU - The Cebu City Hall started covering with soil the garbage at the Inayawan landfill - a measure that no less than City Administrator Francisco Fernandez admitted as something they should have done a long time ago to eliminate the foul smell of garbage.

“It should have been done by the city a long time ago…we are committed in eliminating the foul smell. We will eliminate the foul smell completely,” Fernandez said.

City Councilor Augustus Pe said workers will continue putting soil atop the garbage in the landfill for the next three months until everything is covered. The road around the landfill is also being rehabilitated.

Aside from covering the mountainous garbage with soil, certain chemicals would also be mixed with the garbage to “completely” eliminate the foul odor, Fernandez said. 

The city government has allocated P6 million for the rehabilitation project.

Apart from the concern on the residents in Inayawan, the city is also worried about the complaints raised by locators of the South Road Properties on the foul smell coming from the dumpsite.

With the dumpsite already filled up, the city is presently scouting for a possible dumpsite. The landfill was supposed to be closed in 2005 but the city is left with no other choice to utilize the same in the absence of an alternative site.

At present, an average of 400 tons of garbage is being collected daily in Cebu City.

The 15.41 hectare Inayawan landfill- 12 hectares of which is used as dumpsite- started operation in 1998 after three years of construction. It costs around P300 million.

The city government is spending close to P70 million a year for solid waste management, including the operation of garbage trucks and the maintenance of the landfill. — Mitchelle L. Palaubsanon/JMO (THE FREEMAN)