Best Practices and

Innovations in
Community-Based
Solid Waste Management
in Cebu
This report was prepared by D.G.J.Premakumara, IGES in collaboration with A2D
Project—Research Group for Alternatives to Development Inc. to communicate
the lessons learned from the Community-Based Solid Waste Management System
Development Project in Cebu, Philippines under the Japan Fund for Global
Environment during 2010/2012.
Contents
Acknowledgments i
Foreword ii
Introduction 1
Municipal Solid Waste Management
System and Practices in Cebu City 3
The Takakura Method of Composting 5
Benefits of Community-Based
Solid Waste Management and Composting 10
Lessons Learned 13
Kalunasan: Providing Mother Compost for a
Metropolis 16
Luz: Engaging the Private Sector in a Sustainable
Partnership 18
Talamban: Adopting New Technology for Sustainable
SWM 20
San Francisco: Harnessing the Purok for
Community-Based SWM 22
Mandaue City: Training New Leaders for SWM
Sustainability 24
Sunpride Foods Inc.: Commitment to Reduce Waste
at the Source 25
STC: Promoting Responsibility for the Environment
through Composting 27
Talisay and Lapulapu: Initiating Change for SWM
Sustainability 28
References 29
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Acknowledgments

The project activities were carried out in partnership with Kitakyushu International-
Techno Cooperative Association (KITA), the Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies (IGES), the J-POWE/Jpec Group Inc. in Kitakyushu City, Japan and the
City of Cebu and its stakeholders including barangay officials, community-based
organizations (CBOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private institutes
and academic groups in the Philippines. We would like to thank all those who
provided valuable information and advice in making this report. The findings,
interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are entirely those of the author
and should not be attributed to any affiliated organizations or their representatives.

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Foreword
The partnership undertaken by the City of Cebu (Philippines) and Kitakyushu City, Japan to
promote a decentralized, community-based composting system through the KitaQ System
Composting in Asia Project and the success attained are affirmations that much can be
achieved if citizens are taught environmentally sustainable principles and provided the
logistical and policy support to practice effective methods in their respective communities.
Methods and approaches similar to the KitaQ System Composting are essential in any
participatory environmental management program. This has been confirmed through
the recognition bestowed to some local government units and entities practicing similar
programs.

Indeed, the challenges posed by an increasing volume of solid waste in a rapidly growing
society, exacerbated by a “throw away” mentality, continue to hound economies in many
parts of the globe.

This becomes a governance issue as well because ineffective solid waste management
affects public health, contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, aggravates climate
change, and derails any attempt to attain sustainable development.

The situation becomes untenable such that some government leaders and policy makers
resort to technologies that claim to be the panacea to all solid waste problems. Most often,
such approaches are contrary not only to universally accepted environmental standards
but also to the basic principle that working with communities rather than just relying on
technologies is essential in resolving problems of this magnitude.

We, therefore, need to sustain projects and collaborations utilizing effective approaches
such as the KitaQ System Composting, to continue promoting the same in the communities,
and to pursue active information campaign. Such campaign should mobilize the citizens to
practice waste avoidance and resource recovery and to employ source reduction and waste
minimization measures, such as composting and recycling.

For the City of Cebu, we maintain our faith in promoting composting both in the household
and barangay levels, thus the continuing pursuit to teach Cebuanos the Takakura composting
method and to help barangays establish composting and material recovery facilities.
I am expressing my deep appreciation to our Kitakyushu City partners, the Kitakyushu
International Techno-Cooperative Association (KITA) and the Institute for Global
Environmental Strategies (IGES), for providing their knowledge, time and resources to
help empower communities and make them responsive to the challenges on solid waste
management.

Nida C. Cabrera
City Councilor – North District, City of Cebu
Chairperson – Committee on Parks and Playground, Wildlife, Ecology and Environmental
Management, Cebu City Council
Cebu City, Philippines

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Introduction
The island of Cebu is located in Central Philippines, waste, which is
about 600 km south of Manila, the country’s capital. often mixed with
Metro Cebu, the second largest metropolis in the human and animal
Philippines, is a coastal urban sprawl comprising excreta, is dumped
four (4) cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Lapu-lapu and i n d i s c r i m i n a te ly
Talisay; and six (6) municipalities of Compostela, in the streets and
Lilo-an, Consolacion, Cordova, Minglanilla and in drains, thus
Naga. It has an approximate total land area of contributing to
74,209 hectares and accomodates about 1.6 flooding. The
million people according to the year 2000 census. urban poor, who
About 70% of the economic activities of the region are living in the
are concentrated in Metro Cebu (Cebu City, 2007). low-income areas,
suffer most from
Solid Waste Management (SWM) is considered to the life-threatening
be one of the most serious environmental issues conditions deriving
confronting urban areas in Metro Cebu. Rapid from deficient
urbanization and economic growth in the region management of
have resulted in a corresponding growth of solid solid waste. Figure 1: The Location of Cebu
waste, which local governments find difficult to Source: http://www.cebulan-
manage. The most common guages.com
existing treatment method throughout the region
SWM is primarily the responsibility of local is land filling, as it remains the cheapest and easiest
governments. It is the largest single budget way to dispose of waste. However, many landfills
allocation, though many local governments in the in developing countries are poorly designed
region are struggling to provide at least the most and uncontrolled, effectively turning into open,
basic level of waste services to its citizens. Typically, unsanitary dumpsites. The existing dumpsites
one to two thirds of the solid waste generated have most often reached their maximum capacity
in the region is not collected. The uncollected and finding new sites is becoming an increasingly
Table 1: Population, Density and Growth Rate in Metro Cebu, Province and Philippines difficult task for local
(Source: City Planning and Development Office, Cebu City, 2007) governments due to
Total Population in Population Density in Annual Growth Rate, the scarcity of suitable
2000 2000 (pr sq.km.) 1995-2000 (%) land within their
Cebu city 718,821 2,204 1.77 boundaries and the
Mandaue city 259,728 6,743 6.36 increasing costs and
Lapu Lapu city 217,019 2,933 4.88 land values. This results
Talisay city 148,110 3,062 4.56 in serious local, regional
Naga city 80,189 702 3.27 and global public and
environmental health
Minglanilla city 77,268 1,277 4.64
problems, including
Liloan 64,970 1,130 5.33
air pollution, soil
Consolacion city 62,298 1,170 5.18
and groundwater
Cordova city 34,032 3,146 5.41 contamination and
Metro Cebu 1,693,831 1,990 2.26 emission of greenhouse
Province 2,377,588 603 3.07 gases (GHGs).
Philippines 76,498,735 229 2.36

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

The Republic Act (RA) 9003 or Ecological Solid

Waste Management Act of 2000, was ratified for
providing the legal framework in establishing an
integrated solid waste management system based
on 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) and trying
to reduce the amount of waste generated at the
source, rather than later at the end-of-cycle.

Under the RA 9003, local governments are

responsible for SWM planning, implementation
and enforcement, including the creation of SWM
board, preparation of SWM plan, establishment of
the material recovery facility (MRF), composting
and establishment of sanitary landfill for final Figure 2: Inayawan Landfill Site, Cebu City.
disposal. However, only a few local governments Source: Premakumara, IGES, 2010
in the region are able to prepare, implement their
plans and sustain their activities. There are still
many cases of improper waste disposal, lack of
policy enforcement at the local level, and lack of
awareness and participation in both the private
and public sectors.

Despite this, there are some successful local

initiatives utilizing an integrated, decentralized,
and sustainable municipal waste management
approach. A central feature of this approach is the
implementation of waste separation at source,
promotion of recycling, and composting; and
building partnership among the community, the
private sector and the local government. However,
Figure 3: Uncollected waste dump in open spaces in Cebu.
opportunities to share these good practices are Source: Premakumara, IGES, 2010
hampered by the lack of documentation. Thus,
this report shares some best practices Table 2: Common Waste Disposal Methods in Metro Cebu, 2000
in community-based solid waste (Source: UNEP, 2009)
management and composting in the Method of Waste Disposal Household
Metro Cebu. They include case studies
from Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Lapulapu Total Number Percentage (%)
and San Francisco and cover the efforts Collection by garbage trucks 212,652 31.5
of local governments, the private sector Illegal dumping 71,192 10.5
and community groups. Burning 331,762 49.1
Composting 16,891 2.5
Burying 16,891 2.5
Feeding to animals 11,929 1.8
Others 4,272 0.6

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Municipal Solid Waste Management

System and Practices in Cebu City
• City Ordinance No. 2243 (the Sustainable Development
Since the enactment of RA 9003, Cebu, as one of the Ordinance of the City of Cebu) provides for
leading cities in the region, has taken innovative preservation and protection of the environment for
future generations.
efforts to manage its municipal solid waste based • City Ordinance No. 2017 (the ordinance of the Cebu
on the concept of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and City Solid Waste Management Board [SWMB] and
Recycling). Some of these innovative policies and appropriating funds) ensures the adoption and
practices are described briefly in this section. formulation of an integrated, comprehensive and
ecological SWM programme through the participation
of community, NGOs, and the private sector.
Solid Waste Management Regulations • City Ordinance No. 2031 promotes solid waste
Cebu City promulgated several ordinances to segregation at the source by enforcing the No
strengthen the policy framework in implementing Segregation, No Collection policy, providing penalties
the ecological solid waste management under the thereof and the creation of a special funds for incentives.
requirements of RA 9003. • City Ordinance No. 1361 details the system of waste
collection, imposing fees thereof and expropriating
funds for it and for other related purposes.
Establishment of Solid Waste Management (Source: UNEP, 2009)
Board (SWMB)
A Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) was
established in 2003 under the chairmanship of The major functions of the SWMB
the Mayor to take necessary policy, legal and • Prepare, submit and implement a ten-year SWM
plan for the city and develop specific guidelines for
institutional recommendations in implementing
its implementation;
the SWM programmes. A 10-year Plan for Solid • Review plan every two years and monitor its
Waste Reduction in Cebu City was drafted implementation;
in 2005 with the technical assistance of Fort • Adopt revenue-generating measures to promote
Collins, Colorado, USA, under the Resource Cities support;
• Provide necessary logistical and operational
Programme of the International City/County
support;
Management Association. Under the Kitakyushu • Coordinate efforts of its component Barangays;
Initiative Network for a Clean Environment • Manage the collection and disposal of residual and
(2000/2010), which was initiated by Kitakyushu special wastes;
City and the IGES with the assistance of the United • Encourage setting up of multi-purpose
Environmental Cooperatives;
Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia
• Enforce City Ordinance No. 2243 (the Sustainable
and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Cebu City had also Development Ordinance of the City of Cebu)
set a target to reduce waste to be land filled by
50% by 2015. For the implementation of the SWM The major functions of the BSWMC
plan at the barangay level, the Barangay Solid • Formulate a solid waste management programme
consistent with the city municipality plan;
Waste Management Committee (BSWMC) was
• Segregate and collect biodegradable, compostable,
established under the leadership of the barangay reusable wastes;
captain. • Establish a material recovery facility;
• Allocate Barangay funds and look for outside sources
of funds;
• Organize core coordinators; and
• Submit monthly report to the city.
(Source: UNEP, 2009)

3
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Creation of New Carder System

The Cebu Environmental Sanitation Enforcement
Team (CESET) was formed for mobilizing the
participation of communities in enforcing the
environmental laws and policies. Further, a system
of Barangay Environmental Officers (BEOs)
was established, recruiting five staff members
for each barangay based on the community
leader elements. The BEOs were trained to
play an effective role as information providers
in their respective barangays and also to take
responsibility in enforcing the municipal policies,
monitoring proper waste collection, assisting in
establishing the Material Recovery Facility (MRF)
and managing the composting schemes.

Enforcement of No Segregation No Collection

Policy
Since April 2011 the city has strictly enforced the
No Segregation, No Collection Policy and started
to educate citizens to separate waste at source
into biodegradable, non-biodegradable, recyclable
and residual in its aim to meet the goals of RA
9003. The CESET is active in monitoring policy
implementation and seeing that violators are fined
or imprisoned under City Ordinances No.1361 and
No.2031.
Figure 4: No Segregation, No Collection Policy Issued by
Cebu City. Source: Cebu City, 2012
Supportive Strategies for Establishing Material
Recovery Facility (MRF) at Barangay Level While over 50% of municipal waste includes the
The city has introduced several supportive organic materials, the bulk of other recyclables
strategies to encourage the barangay staff in being separated at source or taken out later,
establishing the MRFs. The annual municipal composting remains of great interest for reduction
budget (20,000 pesos for each barangay) was of waste to be landfilled. Thus, the city has taken
allocated based on the demand-driven approach an initiative to establish model composting
to support the efforts of barangays in establishing schemes at different scales and different levels,
MRF and composting centres. This budget can be such as household, neighbourhood initiatives or
used for covering the construction costs and buying barangay composting schemes; small-scale private
required tools and equipment. In addition, the city sector composting enterprises; and initiatives
has provided necessary trainings for the barangay of companies and institutions in composting on
staff. Further, a number of competitions, including their premises. In addition to vermin compost,
the best environmental barangay and the cleanest a traditional compost method practiced in Cebu
sitio, were started in partnership with the private City, the Japanese project introduced a Takakura
sector and the media to motivate and strengthen Compost Method, a method initiated by Koji
community participation, and encourage them to Takakura, an expert from the JPOWER/Jpec Group
improve their neighbourhood environment. Inc. in Kitakyushu, based on the use of fermentative
microorganisms. Because of its low cost, ease in
Promotion of composting city-wide learning, and practical applicability as well as a
Since 2010 Cebu City, in collaboration with its speedy decomposition process, the method was
counterparts in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu, getting popular as one of the effective composting
has started to promote composting city-wide. methods in the city.

4
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

The Takakura Method of Composting

Dr. Koji Takakura, Coordinator (Senior compost
expert) of the Wakamatsu Environment Research
How to make Seed compost
Fermentation microorganisms can be found in
Institute, invented this composting method. It has
the local area. We can collect the microorganisms
three key elements: fermentative microorganisms,
moisture/water content, and aerobic fermentation. from fermented foods. Actionmycete and
Basidiomycete can be collected from forest soil
Certain types of fermentative microorganisms, and mushroom respectively. At first, Rice husk
which include the following, aid the 3-stage and Rice bran mixed well. Fermentation foods,
composting: Humus, Mushroom and sugar are mixed with
water and treated to the above fermenting bed.
• mould fungi and bacteria (decomposes Adjust the moisture level to 40~60% by adding
carbon hydrate, protein, and fat) water. Keep it about 3~5 days for fermentation in
• actinomycete bacteria (decomposes it (complete seed compost).
cellulose and hemicellulose) (Takakura, 2011)
• basidiomycete bacteria
(decomposes lignin) Fermented Food（Microorganisms）

Kitchen garbage is chopped and

mixed to seed compost every day.
Chopping them up into smaller
pieces also hastens decomposition.

In the Kalunasan composting

center, large amounts of seed
compost are piled up. Organic
wastes from the market are then
mixed into these and are left to
decompose for 2 days. The compost
is then shredded before they are
arranged in heaps to ferment for
10 days. The appropriate moisture
content for compost heaps is
between 40-60%. Workers
regularly mix and turn the heaps to
encourage aerobic decomposition.

Preparation
• Rice husk “Aside from hosting the city’s main
• Rice bran composting center, I think one of the best
• Fermented foods practices of Kalunasan is its commitment
• (such as: Lactopafi, Tuba coconut wine, dry to strictly observe city ordinances on
yeast)
• Humus(forest soil) solid waste management and promote
• Mushroom knowledge sharing in schools.”
• Sugar -Jovencio T. Lopez, Barangay Administrator

5
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Distribution of compost baskets to individual Table 3: The distribution list of Composting Basket in
households Cebu City (Source: Cebu City. Compiled by Premakumara,
2010/2011)

Cebu City distributed composting baskets Name of the Barangay No. of Baskets
as a simple way to treat organic waste in the
Barangay Punta Princesa 71
household. The BEOs share information on
Barangay Inayawan 51
household composting and educate residents
Barangay Quiot 134
in their barangays with the assistance of the
women’s organizations, homeowners associations Barangay T. Padilla 4
and NGOs about the benefits of keeping the Barangay Capital Site 13
environment clean and green. Households that Barangay Ermita 29
gained sufficient knowledge of the functions of Barangay Guadalupe 136
the compost basket and shown interest in its use Barangay Labangon 183
were selected to receive the free baskets from the Barangay Sambag 11 20
city. People were educated about the way to cut Barangay Tisa 30
their kitchen waste into small pieces and put them Barangay Tag Bao 40
into the compost basket. In two to three weeks,
Barangay Mambaling 71
the organic waste is converted into compost that
Barangay Luz 25
is commonly used to grow vegetables and herbal
plants in their home gardens. The recyclable Barangay Carrita 25
materials are collected separately and sold to the Cebu Environmental Sanitation
465
Enforcement Team (CESET)
junk shops. To date, the city officials have already
distributed about 2,350 baskets within the city Others 1053
limit. However, it was identified that this approach Total 2,350
could be very effective in the
barangays where residents Special Waste Mixed Residue
2.00% 7.84%
have a good education on the
Hazardous Waste
environment, basic knowledge 0.32%
Glass
on how to make composting, 1.63%
commitment to use the basket Paper
Metal
and availability of effective Construction Materials 16.18%
3.51%
1.00%
follow-up and monitoring Electronics
system. At present, BOEs are 0.10%
involved in following up and Plastics
monitoring the household Organic 16.87%
50.56%
baskets and troubleshooting by
helping households with their
composting activities.

Figure 5: The Composition of Municipal Solid Waste in Cebu City. Source: Cebu City, 2012

6
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Figure 6: Training and distribution of compost baskets to the residents. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011

Construction and operation of model composting the European crawler, that can multiply fast and
schemes at barangay level sell at a high price) and/or a windrow method
with the fermented microorganism (the popular
With the technical and financial assistance of Cebu method now widely known as the “Takakura
City, some barangays have established their own Method”). The compost product is mainly used for
composting schemes. These composting schemes the greenery of the barangay or sold within the
are small in scale (less than one ton/day) and largely barangay, where marketing strategies are limited
rely on segregated waste from nearby residents to personal contact among the collectors or core
and/or market waste. The residents are educated members of the associations. Compost prices have
to separate waste at source. Separated organic ranged from 8 to 20 pesos which also reflect the
waste is then collected by the BEOs and transported middle and high income users targeted in the areas
to the composting facility. In some cases the waste where these schemes are often located. The main
collectors also sort mixed waste into different piles challenges for these schemes are cooperation of
during the collection process, as not all segregate residents, finding land in suitable locations, odour
the biodegradable pile. At the composting facility, complaints by the nearby residents, especially for
biodegradable waste is treated by using vermin vermin compost facilities and the lack of capacity,
composting (with special types of worms, such interest and willingness of the barangay staff.
as the redworm, the African nightcrawler and

Figure 7: Composting facilities in barangay Talamban and Luz. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011

7
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Medium-scale business oriented enterprises financial figures, some complaints from nearby
These composting schemes are run by individual residents, and lack of support from the barangay
entrepreneurs, NGOs and cooperatives at and the city government.
barangays, who have identified the organic waste
treatment and recycling as a business opportunity Composting at institution and company
and found a market for the end products. premises
Entrepreneurs have invested private money in These composting schemes are set in different
the business or taken loans. The cooperatives, on organizational setups. They are initiated and
the other hand, got financial assistance from their operated by the institution or company to treat
barangays and private ventures to cover the initial the organic waste generated within their own
capital costs. They all focus on pure organic waste premises. The decision to start the composting
streams such as waste from vegetable, fruits or facility results from an unreliable waste collection
flower markets as well as residuals from business service of the barangay, from cost saving, and/
premises rather than household collections. or from environmental consciousness. The
The scale of the composting facilities is varied employees of the institution operate the facilities
from one to two tons/day and the composting themselves. The composting methods and scales
methods are usually similar to the ones already of operation that are chosen in these schemes are
mentioned. After the compost is matured, it will usually similar to the ones already mentioned.
be packed and ready to market. Each composting The most common method was bin or box
facility has its own marketing strategies and most composting in combination with windrow/native
commonly the compost product is sold through microorganism method. Most of the compost
a fertilizer distribution company. For additional produced is used on the premises, but some are
income, some entrepreneurs act as consultants marketed. While a company or institution has
for associations or companies wanting to start to pay the barangay for transport of waste from
composting activities or cross-subsidize the their premises to the landfill, savings in collection
composting activities with the revenues from and transport fees can be achieved by recycling
waste collection fees and selling of the recyclable and composting. The advantage of this type of
materials. These composting facilities with a composting scheme is the relative ease and speed
business approach provide job opportunities to of decision making as well as tight monitoring of
low income groups. Both male and female workers the scheme. Decisions are usually taken by the one
profit from the business; they are employed for in charge of the environmental department of the
waste collection, sorting, composting or as drivers. organization and are less dependent on municipal
The key challenges faced by these composting collaboration. However, by offering incentives and
facilities are finding a suitable land, initial capital technical assistance to companies, the municipality
for covering the cost, difficulties in covering the can facilitate the process of initiating composting
cost only through the sale of composting, scarcity programmes at the institutional level.
of documentation of waste flows and unclear

Figure 8: Composting facilities at SunPride Company and Handuraw Pizza Restaurant. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011

8
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Composting Plant of Bio Nutrient Waste Management Inc. in Inayawan

This project was started by Emma Rama and two of her friends from the Permaculture Learning
Group in Cebu City as a solution to treat organic waste discharged by her neighbour, Creative
Cuisine, a well-known catering service company located in the residential sub-division of barangay
Lahug. The uncollected stock of left-over food and kitchen waste of the catering company created an
unhealthy environment in the neighbourhood. One day Emma Rama and her team proposed the idea
of composting as a solution to the problem and negotiated with the owner of the catering company to
give them organic waste every day. The owner of the catering company found the idea good, because
he could then save on the monthly fee of 4,000 pesos for a private company to transport his waste to
a landfill, even though the waste collection service was not satisfactoy. Emma’s team established a
small composting plant in her vacant land and started to make compost, accepting about 0.3 tonnes of
organic waste daily from the catering company and from her own residence. One of the team members,
Cassy, who knows the Takakura Composting Method, helped her to train a worker on how to make
compost effectively. The compost plant required about 25,000 pesos for initial costs and 6,000 pesos
monthly for its operation and management. While Emma has a passion for and some experience in
organic farming, she started to grow herbal plants using the compost products and sell them to the
nearby supermarkets and malls in addition to selling the compost product at 10 pesos/kg. Gradually,
she found a good demand for both her herbal plants and the compost products.

After a year of operation, the team expanded the composting activities to address the large demand for
organic composting not only within Cebu City but also from the entire region. A new company called
Composting Plant Bio Nutrient Waste Management Inc. was established in partnership with Cebu Solid
Waste Management Inc, a waste recycling company and a new compost plant that was constructed in
the site next to the landfill site in Inayawan. Currently, the compost plant of simple structure accepts
about 12 tonnes of organic waste per day from the markets and shopping malls. The private collection
companies transport the waste to the compost plant free of charge. At the compost plant, about 10-
15 workers and one supervisor are recruited to separate waste and operate the compost piles. After
segregation, the larger materials are shredded and manually fed to the compost plant daily. Most of
these workers are scavengers who were in the landfill site and now earn about 200 peso/day. The
payment for the supervisor is about 300 pesos/day.

While the compost plant is at an experimental stage, it is very difficult to analyze the cost and benefits.
However, the data gathered from personal communication indicate that estimated income of the
plant is enough to cover the operational costs easily. The daily operation cost is about 9,300 pesos
(personnel cost is about 3,300 and other management costs are about 6,000), which can be covered
by the daily income of 12,000 pesos (sale of 3,000 kg of compost at 4 pesos/kg). The compost plant
is now negotiating with Cebu City for the processing of 50 tonnes of market waste from the Carbon
market, with a tipping fee of 700 pesos/ton, the introduction of some mechanical applications for the
operation, agreeing on a business strategy and getting a composting certificate from the Agricultural
Department.

9
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Benefits of Community-Based
Solid Waste Management and Composting
The experiences of Cebu have identified the introduce waste separation at source, recycling
enormous potential of community-based SWM and and composting activities at community-scale,
composting in achieving sustainable development about 30% waste reduction target was achieved
with strong economic, social and environmental by 2012.
benefits.
Reducing Municipal Budget for Waste
Achieving Waste Reduction Targets Management

The successful community-based SWM and The reduction of waste to be landfilled brings
composting programmes reduce the waste to be a significant reduction of the municipal budget
landfilled by diverting a larger amount of waste for waste collection, transportation, and landfill
from the municipal stream close to the source management, which can be used for further
of generation. As Figure 9 shows, the municipal upscale of the community-based SWM activities in
waste generation in Cebu City has increased from the city or any other development activity in the
212 tonnes/day in 1982 to 470 tonnes/day in barangays.
2010. However, since the city has taken efforts to

The estimation shows that reduction of 30% or 140 tonnes/day waste to be landfilled brings the
following cost savings for Cebu City. (Source: Personal communication with the Director Engineer
of DPS, 2012)

• Cost for waste collection and transport to the Inayawan landfill (800 pesos/ tonne x 140 tonnes)
= 112,000 pesos
• Cost pay for the private company for waste transportation from Inayawan to Consolacion final
landfill site (200 pesos/tonne X 140 tonnes) = 28,000 pesos
• Tipping fee for waste dumping at the Inayawan landfill (750 pesos x 140 tonnes) = 105,000
pesos

500
450
400
350
300 Total Waste
250 Trasported to
Landfill (tons/day)
200
150
100
50
0
1982 2001 2008 2010 2012 Aug

10
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Generating Livelihood and Strengthening Local local economic opportunities for them, especially
Economy poor housewives. A Bayanihan center was formed
in each sitio to buy the recyclable materials and
The experiences of Cebu City have also recognized train a pool of trainers to make handicraft, such
the potential of community-based SWM and as bags, plant hangers, and flower pots using
composting activities in generating livelihood the collected recyclable materials. Composting
and creating local economic opportunities for is promoted at both household and community
community members through the promotion of scales to treat the collected organic waste. As
recycling, hiring waste collectors, and establishing Table 4 shows this programme has resulted in
composting facilities. As shown in barangay Luz, creating about 338 new job opportunities for the
one of the successful model barangays in Cebu poor residents, giving them additional income of
City, its Kuwarta Sa Basura Programme (KSBP) has 404,500 pesos per month.
benefited the residents by creating livelihood and
Table 4: The creation of job opportunities through composting and material recovery facility in barangay Luz in
2011 (Source: Barangay Luz. Compiled by Premakumara and St. Teresas College, 2012)
No of new job Average monthly income Total monthly income
opportunities are created in Peso generated in Peso
Direct job opportunities at the composting facility and the material recovery facility
Waste separation, collection and
15 6,000 90,000
transport to the facility
Composting facility 6 6,000 36,000
Eco centre assistant 2 3,000 6,000
In-direct job opportunities created with the programme
Collection of recyclable
40 1,500 60,000
materials
Production of handicrafts from
75 1,500 – 3,000 112,500
the recyclable materials
Household composting and
200 500 – 1,000 100,000
cultivating worms for selling
Total 338 404,500

Figure 9: Community Recycling Activities in Barangay Luz. Source: Cebu City, 2012

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Strengthening Community Cohesion crop production, the green revolution had caused
These experiences have also highlighted negative side effects through excessive use of
the importance of community participation chemical fertlizers causing depletion of top soils
in community-based SWM and composting and ground water pollution. The high organic
throughout the project cycle. The programmes matter content in compost will help to re-establish
have created space for community involvement the natural soil structure leading to improved crop
in local decision making, raised awareness production. Urban agriculture plays an exceptional
and understanding on environmental issues, role in the provision of fresh food for urban
developed partnership, trust and understanding dwellers and the realization of a good market for
among service providers and different groups compost production.
in the community, and enhanced opportunities
for vulnerable groups to take part in meaningful Improper waste disposal has also received
activity. increasing attention in relation to climate change,
particularly as a significant contributor to
Improving Local and Global Environment greenhouse gases (GHG). One measure for reducing
The community-based SWM and composting GHG emissions at lowest cost and in a sustainable
programmes often bring environmental and way in developing cities is the promotion of
health benefits to the residents through improving composting. Composting falls under the category
the primary waste collection and treatment at the of greenhouse-gas-avoiding measures. Organic
neighbourhood level. Uncollected waste provides waste, which is composted under aerobic
breeding grounds for disease vectors, such as conditions, produces less greenhouse effect (in
those of 22 human diseases identified as linked terms of CO2 equivalents) than organic waste
to improper SWM (World Bank, 1999). Improper dumped in landfills. As landfills are typically
waste dumping had blocked urban waterways in anaerobic, the waste generates methane, which
the barangays which cause flooding during the has a 21-fold stronger impact on global warming
rainy season. However, the communities which than CO2. The rough estimation based on the
have proper SWM system noticed less impact on UNFCC report “Avoided emissions from organic
flooding incidents in their place. waste composting at landfill sites” (UNFCCC, 2005)
suggests that there has also been a reduction of
From the global perspective, composting practices greenhouse gases generated in landfills through
certainly produce a valuable enhancement to soil composting in Cebu City as equal to 12,000 tonnes
for agriculture. Despite significant increases in of CO2 equivalent in 2012.

Community-based SWM and Composting in Barangay Agsungot

Agsungot, a small mountain barangay in Cebu City, is the winner of best model barangay in 2011 under the
category of small barangays. It received this award for the promotion of organic waste composting to achieve
food security and malnutrition. Twenty (20) families in this barangay came together to form a network for
establishing backyard gardening using the product of community compost.

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Lessons Learned
The cases presented in this report cover a wide establish a shared vision and strategic framework
range of innovative practices and initiatives among stakeholders, secure the political will,
in addressing the problem of SWM in Cebu. enable and regulate the national policies, involve
Experience shows that the conventional way of the community and private sectors, manage the
waste management by relegating responsibilities implementation, and lead ongoing, systematic
solely to the government officials has proven monitoring and evaluation activities; communities
to be no longer effective. As can be seen in the can organize the members, raise community
cases documented in this report, successful awareness, and implement the community-
community-based waste management practices based practices; households can segregate waste
are multi-faceted, involving several stakeholders at source and participate in the community
in the process of implementation. To implement activities; the local private sector can promote/
an innovative community-based SWM and produce sustainable technology, develop financing
composting progarmme city-wide, careful mechanisms, and pursue partnership; and
planning, organization and cooperation among development partners can contribute technical
these stakeholders are needed. As shown in guidance to facilitate research, planning, design,
Figure 10, national and state governments can capacity building, implementation, and monitoring
create the enabling policy environment needed activities. The important lessons that were gained
to support the community-based SWM and from the case study assessments include:
composting programmes; local governments can

Figure 10: Partnership Model for Implementing Community-based SWM and Composting. Source: By Authors, 2012

13
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Promote public education and capacity building Key Points

Community-based SWM and composting will not
be successful unless serious attention is focused • The successful implementation of community-based
on public education and awareness. A strong SWM and composting programmes city-wide requires
building partnership among all stakeholders—
emphasis should be placed on capability building
national, state, and local governments, communities,
and raising public awareness on the importance the local private sector, and development partners,
of proper waste segregation at source. These with local government positioned at the center to
initiatives are cost-effective since the cost it manage implementation.
requires is relatively low, but they have long-term • A strong supportive enabling environment needs to
be developed and maintained at national and local
and far-reaching impacts.
government levels.
• Establishing a shared vision and strategy among
Institutionalize community-based composting stakeholders and securing the political will to
Community-based composting should be implement them are essential.
integrated into the Barangay Solid Waste • Progress needs to be measured using simple and
easy-to-measure indicators.
Management Program. Composting is an effective
• Cost-effective implementation is key in promoting
way to reduce the waste that will go into the main community-based activities city-wide.
waste stream and is cost-effective in managing • Capacity-building is necessary and efforts may
biodegradable organic waste. Studies have shown include work with local government, the local private
that composting can also reduce substantially sector, and resource agencies.
• The programme should mobilize both private
the volume of wastes that end up in the landfill.
investments by households and private sector as well
However, the success of community-based as public investments by government for the majority
composting lies in the strong cooperation and of funds required for project implementation, capacity
involvement of communities. There should also building and program management.
be a strong emphasis placed on segregation of
wastes at source in order to effectively implement Develop incentives for businesses to implement
composting. Massive information dissemination waste reduction programs
and enforcement of waste segregation at the Businesses are important partners of local
source are needed to address this concern. governments in reducing wastes. In order to
encourage businesses to implement waste
Adopt appropriate technology for solid waste reduction programs in their respective companies,
management the government must offer incentives (or
One of the essential elements in solid waste disincentives) to companies implementing
management is the technology. Finding the such programs. This measure can substantially
appropriate, cost-efficient technology is reduce the cost of collection and disposal of
challenging for many cities and municipalities. To wastes for cities and municipalities. Rewarding
do this, a strong focus should be placed on state- business establishments, for example, with a
of-the-art technologies that use sustainable design tax relief incentive can encourage companies to
principles for implementing the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse adopt a waste reduction scheme, which in turn
and Recycle) programs in municipal solid waste eases pressure to a great extent on the landfill
management. Support in the form of subsidies requirements of cities and municipalities.
from the government should also be provided to
stakeholders adopting local technologies that are
proven to have worked effectively in managing
specific types of wastes.

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Establish partnerships between communities Provide institutional support to strengthen

and the private sector community participation
The private sector is an essential partner of
communities in management of wastes. As The success of solid waste management program
illustrated by the case of Barangay Luz, the depends on the participation of stakeholders from
community has collaborated with Cebu Holdings the local government down to the community.
Inc. (see Best Practices below) through a waste However, community participation is more often
collection partnership agreement. As a result a case of lip service than a reality. This is why the
of this partnership, the community has created case of the municipality of San Francisco, Camotes
livelihood opportunities for community members stands out because the local government has
by making products out of recyclable materials ensured that institutional support mechanisms are
from the wastes of Cebu Holdings. However, in place to allow an environment for community
partnerships such as this will not be effective and participation. Conducive policies and an enabling
sustainable unless there are incentives for the institutional environment are necessary for
community and private sector as well to enter into community participation to take place. It is for
collaborative projects. In addition, there should be this reason that the purok (sub-village) system
a strong emphasis on the culture of collaboration functions effectively. More importantly, this
between the private sector and the community environment could not have happened without a
in addressing the need for waste reduction and strong local leadership. The challenge is therefore
recycling. A caveat must be mentioned since how to create more local leaderships that are
forging a meaningful partnership between the two committed to building capacities of communities.
sectors is not an easy task to achieve. Both sectors
have to have openness and shared commitments
to pursue common goals and objectives in order to
have an enduring and lasting partnership.

15
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Barangay Kalunasan: Best Practices

Providing Mother Compost for a Metropolis

In 2011, the office of councilor Nida Cabrera

initiated a composting project in Barangay
Kalunasan, a mountain barangay in Cebu City. This
was after the Institute of Global Environmental
Strategies (IGES) and Kitakyushu International
Techno-cooperative Association (KITA) introduced
the Takakura method of composting. The Japanese
partners held a trainers’ training and distributed
baskets for household composting. A total of 50
participants from 19 organizations attended.

According to Mr. Valeriano Dela Cruz Jr. of the Cebu

Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team
(CESET), this project was born out of the need
to address the heavy volume of biodegradable
waste, particularly fruit and vegetable peelings,
from Cebu City’s central wet market in Carbon.
Kalunasan was chosen because it had enough
space required for the project.

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

ORDERS OF KALUNASAN MOTHER COMPOST

DATE PARTICULARS RECEIVER The composting site in Kalunasan has

33 kilos of Takakura Cebu Institute of provided mother compost to multiple
May 2012 sites in Cebu City since 2011. The two
compost Technology
6 kilos of Takakura main composting sites employ the
May 2012 Sunny Hills Takakura method. There is also a small
compost
vermicomposting facility.
6 kilos of Takakura
May 2012 Paradise Village
compost
Recently, SM City started delivering
18 sacks of mother its organic waste to the facility for
11 July 2012 Guba
compost composting. Since April 2012, a total of
24 sacks of mother 23.84 metric tons kilos of biodegradable
Emma Ramas
compost waste from the mall have been delivered
2 kilos of mother to Kalunasan for composting.
19 June 2012 Emma Ramas
compost
2 kilos of mother As more people are oriented about the
22 June 2012 Emma Ramas Takakura method, more organizations
compost
from the city have ordered mother
20 Baskets with
12 July 2012 Sto. Nino Village compost to start their own composting
Takakura compost
activities. Some of the organizations that
10 Baskets with have started Takakura composting are
13 July 2012
Takakura compost listed in the table on the left.
2 baskets with 3 kilos
16 July 2012 mother compost; 18 DENR
kilos mother compost

17
 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Best Practices
Barangay Luz:
Engaging the Private Sector in a Sustainable Partnership
Barangay Luz barangay is a class-A local
government unit located in the North District
of Cebu City, between barangays Hipodromo
and Mabolo. It has a total population of 16,238.
From being a largely residential community, the
barangay evolved in over half a century to become
a bustling commercial area. It is now home to a
major mall, several high-rise office buildings, and
hotels. With urbanization and rapid population
growth, Barangay Luz, like other areas in the city,
eventually encountered a big stumbling block in
its solid waste management.

In response, Barangay Luz was one of the first

to strictly implement R.A. 9003 at the barangay
level. In 2007, it entered into a partnership with
Cebu Holdings Incorporated (CHI), to collect
all biodegradable wastes from its buildings and
offices in Cebu Business Park, which is located
within the barangay.

Cebu Holdings Incorporated is a local company

engaged in real property ownership, development,
and management. It was founded in 1988 and
soon after established its corporate headquarters
in Cebu Business Park, a real estate development
designated for corporate and commercial buildings
located in Barangay Luz

Barrio Luz’ partnership with CHI led to the building

and establishment of Tugkaran, a green space
and composting facility located in Cebu Business
Park. The composting facility occupies a 2,800
square-meter lot located at Phase 3 of the Cebu
Business Park. It processes tons of biodegradable
wastes from ACC (Ayala Center Cebu), particularly
fruit and vegetable peelings from food merchants
(CHI Annual Report, 2011). In 2011, the bulk of
biodegradable wastes from CHI properties were
collected by Barangay Luz (see table on the right).

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Because of the partnership with Cebu Holdings

Incorporated, many barangay residents were
given regular employment. Among them were:

• 21 employed as waste collectors for

Ayala Center Cebu and Cebu Business Park
• 2 Eco Center personnel
“Our partnership with CHI
• 220 out-of-school youth hired at Ayala Center
Cebu establishments opened a lot of opportunities to
• 4 tanods (watch patrol) to enforce our community, like scholarships
environmental ordinances for our youths and employment
for jobless fathers who are doing
Cebu Holdings Incorporated provided vocational the segregation and composting
scholarships for a Barista Course from the University
of wastes from the mall and Cebu
of Southern Philippines Foundation, an academic
institution located in neighboring barangay Lahug. Business Park. We are grateful
Successful trainees were hired by Ayala Center Cebu that Barangay Luz has been
coffee and beverage merchants Bo’s Coffee, Figaro, chosen as their partner in their
Gloria Jeans, and Seattle’s Best Coffee. Part of their corporate social responsibility
success is credited to the barangay-initiated review
classes for pre-employment examinations.
programs.”

-Ronilio M. Sab-a,
Employment of Out-of-School Youth Barangay Secretary
Year No. of youths hired per year
2008 120
2009 160
2010 220
2011 1000

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Barangay Talamban: Best Practices

Adopting New Technology for Sustainable SWM

Consumption of petroleum worldwide, based on the

latest statistics, is nearly 82.4 million barrels per
day or almost 30 billion barrels each year. However,
petroleum production is only 26 billion barrels per
year. Out of the 195 countries, there are only 40
countries that produce petroleum. This means that
the rest of the world has to import petroleum for
fuel, which often causes major economic drain, with
the high prices of oil on the world market (Sarker,
Rashid, & Molla, 2012).

This situation led to efforts in finding alternative

sources of fuel. One of the new technologies
discovered is converting organic compounds
into hydrocarbon fuel. Much of the work on this
technology has focused on biomass, but deriving
fuels from waste plastic material has been proven
to be as feasible.

Talamban is one of the biggest and oldest barangays

in Cebu City. In the past, residents earned a living by
working on what was once a productive agricultural
and pastoral land. Among the products were guava,
santol, jackfruit, and papaya with sugar cane and
corn as the major products. Today, the barangay
is a commercial, residential, and educational area.
Barangay Talamban has a total population of 29,531
as of 2012 spread out across 792 hectares of what
was once corn and sugarcane fields.

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

As an initial response to the solid waste

problem, Barangay Talamban adopted Cebu INGREDIENTS OF PLASTIC-TO-FUEL
City ordinances 1361 and 2031 as prescribed
by R.A. 9003. There are several opportunities 1ST MIXTURE 2ND MIXTURE
that Barangay Talamban is harnessing in order 400g of coconut husk 200g of coconut husk
to mitigate and hopefully solve the solid waste (20%) (10%)
management problem in a sustainable and 200g of mango seeds 400g of mango seeds
long-term fashion. One such activity is the (10%) (20%)
proposed introduction of the plastic-to-fuel and
1.4kg of shredded plastic 1.4kg of shredded plastic
pelletizer method, which is to be implemented
(10%) (7%)
early next year as spearheaded by the city level
in partnership with barangay Talamban as the TOTAL: 2 kilograms TOTAL: 2 kilograms
pioneering area (Ceby City Converting Waste Equipment: Shredder, Mixer,
Plastics to Fuel Baseline Project, 2011). & Pelletizer Machine
Pelletizer Machine: Pelletizer Machine:
preheat 60°C preheat 140°C
Processing: 5 months Processing: 5 months
Output: 13/4 Output: 13/4

plant has now been running for three months,

producing 1600 liters of fuel from 2 metric tons
of plastic daily. The fuel produced is being tested
in vehicles and so far they have very good results
(www.gotecotech.com, July 2012).

Based on the initial results made by the Pyro-Green

Company, an initial implementation of such system
at the barangay level si milar to that of barangay
At the national level, the Poly-green Technology
Talamban will contribute to environmental
and Resources, a Philippine-based company, has
conservation and may significantly reduce the
created a system that converts plastic waste into
country’s garbage problems particularly that of
fuel. Its inventor, Jayme Navarro, discovered the
the non-biodegradable wastes. It will also serve
process while trying to convert plastic waste back
as an alternative source of fuel and may decrease
into its original virgin form. Pyrolysis is a fairly
pollution in terms of vehicle emissions.
simple process. It starts by drying plastics to be
processed. They are then shredded into smaller
pieces, and heated in a thermal chamber. The
melted plastic is continually heated until it boils
and produces vapors. The vapor is passed into
cooling pipes and distilled into a liquid, which is
chemically identical to regular fuel. The thermal
chamber used in the process is designed to have
very low oxygen, causing the plastics to melt into
a liquid rather than burn. The vapor it produces is
similar to that of the boiling water. Not only is the
process producing a cheaper and cleaner fuel and
reducing plastic trash and pollution, but it’s also
an environment-friendly process. A Pyre-Green

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Best Practices
San Francisco:
Harnessing the Purok for Community-based SWM

The municipality of San Francisco lies in the

northeast coast of Cebu Island and is one of the 4
municipalities that constitute the Camotes group
of Islands. San Francisco is a 3rd class municipality
in Cebu Province with a total annual income of
P55,862,028.19. Its main economic activities
include agriculture and fishing, with tourism as a
growing industry. San Francisco has a population
of 45,125 (NSO 2010) spread over a total land area
of 10,957 ha. that is divided into 15 barangays, 12
of which are classified as coastal. Around 7,948.53
hectares are considered arable land and about
143 hectares are classified as forest/reservation/
timberland. Lake Danao, the largest natural lake
found in the Province of Cebu, is a distinct part
of San Francisco’s physical landscape. It is both
marketed as a tourist attraction and a site of tree-
planting activities as well.

In 2011, San Francisco won the prestigious

United Nations Sasakawa Award, given yearly to
an individual or institution that has undertaken
outstanding disaster risk reduction management
(DRRM) programs in their communities. San
Francisco bested 14 cities, 4 individuals and 7
institutions from around the world.
The cities of Santa Fe (Argentina)
and Northern Vancouver (Canada)
came in second and third
respectively to San Francisco.

How the Purok Works

The secret of San Francisco’s
success is its purok system. Under
the Municipal DRRM Council and
its implementing DRRM Office,
all barangays in San Francisco
have a purok structure that
practices the bottom-up approach
in identification, planning and
implementation of all DRRM
programs. Each purok has a

22
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

president that oversees several

committees. The puroks coordinate
with the barangay officials through
a designated barangay councilor
(A2D Project, 2011).

The Purok System plays a critical

role in implementing the municipal
DRRM programs. It enhances
the community’s participation
in responding to disaster risks
effectively, while partnering with
government, civil society, and NGOs
in improving the overall situation of
each barangay.

San Francisco’s Integrated

SWM Program promotes an
environmentally sensitive and
climate-smart development. It is considered as a EDUCATE
best practice in the municipality. The SWM office works with purok leaders
to conduct information campaigns at the
purok level. The Department of Education
Under RA 9003 and supported by Municipal
(DepEd) and Cebu Technological University
Ordinance 2009-061 (Modified Ordinance of
San Francisco campus also integrates the SWM
Integrated and Ecological Solid Waste Management
program into its curriculum for elementary,
of San Francisco, Cebu), the town was able to
high school, and college students.
develop a SWM strategy that addressed the
problem of pollution and indiscriminate dumping
IMPLEMENT
of garbage. It created an SWM office, located in
Purok leaders implement SWM programs
the municipal government complex, and allocated
by activating its SWM committees. These
resources and logistics to implement SWM
undertake regular cleaning of barangay
programs.
environs and maintain the barangay MRFs.
The municipality’s SWM program directly
ENFORCE
minimizes the risk of disaster caused by flooding
“No segregation, no collection” and “No burning
by ensuring proper segregation of wastes and
of garbage” policies are strictly enforced.
regular cleaning and unclogging of gutters,
drainage systems and creeks.
SUSTAIN
Barangay MRFs provide livelihood
opportunities and additional income by
marketing recycled and processed materials.

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Mandaue City: Best Practices

Training Future Leaders for SWM Sustainability
Mandaue City is one of only two highly urbanized
cities in the Central Visayas region. Before the
second half of the last century, the then-town
of Mandaue had relied heavily on agriculture to
boost its economy. In the 1960s, the city started
its sustained growth and development when it
adopted policies for industrialization. Within ten
years, it developed into a major job opportunity
center and residential area and a minor port of
http://www.mandauecity.gov.ph/
trade and navigation.
Do you know that…
As of 2001, the city has 391 export and import Mandaue received the “Gawad Pangulo sa
private manufacturing firms and has more than Kapaligiran Award” for two consecutive years
8,000 major business establishments engaged in (2000-2001)for being the “cleanest and greenest”
local and domestic trade, wholesale and retail, in the highly urbanized city category.
merchandising and services. Today Mandaue training and interactive program. It focuses on
is Cebu’s new economic driver with more than four major interventions: 1) source segregation;
10,000 business establishments. About 40 percent (2) waste minimization; (3) reuse, recycling &
of Cebu’s export companies are found in Mandaue. utilization; and (4) final disposal.
The city has also contributed a lot to furniture
production in the country with 75 percent of the Currently, Mandaue City is employing an approach
total export coming from Mandaue. towards sustainability of its the solid waste
management program. Mandaue City SWM Officer
Due to the rapid urbanization mentioned, Engr. Ricardo Mendoza is pushing for integrating
Mandaue City faced several SWM issues, such as composting training in the science curricula
low public awareness on waste generation and of private and public secondary educational
characterization, few waste reduction activities institutions located in the city.
and lack of a final disposal facility. Aside from that,
there is still no system of garbage fees and waste By training the youth in household composting
taxes. These served as the baseline for the city’s (specifically using the Takakura method), waste
2010-2019 solid waste management framework reduction at the source will be practiced. Aside
plan. from promoting composting at home, educational
institutions are encouraged to initiate the same
As an initial response to the solid waste problem, to manage biodegradable wastes inside their
Mandaue City enacted several ordinances and premises. Both projects shall be periodically
resolutions which were later amended into the monitored and evaluated by the Mandaue City
Ordinance Number 10-2006-372 also known Solid Waste Management Office (Cebu Daily News,
as the “Ecological and Solid Waste Management September 2012).
Ordinance of Mandaue City” as prescribed in R.A.
9003. Its main objective is to monitor, coordinate, “If our current generation of leaders do not
facilitate and provide assistance in the development respond to the problem, future leaders would
and implementation of an improved solid waste find it very agonizing and it would be close to
management program in the city. Furthermore, its impossible for them to confront the solid waste
goal is to adopt the 3R principles, encourage the problem.“
use of compost rather than chemical fertilizer and - Engr. Ricardo Mendoza, Mandaue City SWM
raise awareness among public through various Officer

24
SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Sunpride Foods Inc.: Best Practices

Commitment to Reduce Waste at the Source

What composes the Mother Compost?

• 500 kilos of rice bran
• 500 kilos of rice husk
Sunpride Foods Incorporated is a food processing • Mixed micro-organisms (yogurt,
company. It has its main plant in Barangay mushrooms, molds, and yeast)
Paknaan, Mandaue City, and manufactures canned
processed meats, frozen meats, and other meat
products. It services markets all over the country.

In February 2011, two representatives from

Sunpride were sent to a Composting Training
conducted by the Department of Science and
Technology (DOST). Four months later, in June
2011, the company decided to implement the
Takakura method of composting.Fat, oil, and
grease (FOG) from its processed meat products
formed the bulk of the mother compost that was
initially harvested. Since then, Sunpride has
already composted 6 tons or 432 drums of FOG.

Every week, 10 to 15 drums of FOG (weighing

210 liters each) are added to the mother compost.
Kitchen wastes, mainly from Big Blue Logistics
(a sister company), are added and mixedto the
compost heaps on a daily basis.Assigned workers
turn each compost heap daily.

The microorganism ingredients are mixed ahead

and stored in drums prior to mixing. Final compost
product is usually harvested after 4 months.

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Since 2011, the harvested organic fertilizer has

Since implementing Takakura composting,
gone straight to the company garden or or has been
we have saved on funds that were
donated to its host barangay, Paknaan, of Mandaue
previously used to haul FOG for treatment.
City. Just this October 2012, Sunpride prepared to
Instead of spending 650 pesos weekly for
sell their fertilizer on the local market.
treatment and disposal, we have already
saved almost 125,000 pesos!
Aside from its reduction of biodegradable waste,
Sunpride also maintains an MRF and sells plastics
-Lyndel J. Pareja, Sunpride Pollution Control
and tin cans for recycling.
Officer
Sharing its success
Last October 29, 2012, Sunpride hosted an
information drive with officials from nearby
barangays in Mandaue. Partners from King’s,
another food processing company, also attended
to learn the technology that can help them reduce
their wastes at the source.

According to Ms. Pareja, despite the hard work and

perseverance required in Takakura composting,
she has not doubted that it is sustainable. Thus,
private companies stand to benefit a lot if they
adopt it.

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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

St. Theresa’s College: Best Practices

Promoting Responsibility for the Environment
through Composting
St. Theresa’s College (STC) is a Catholic learning
institution located at the Don Ramon Aboitiz Street,
Cebu City. It has a current school population of
2,281, serving the preschool, basic, intermediate,
secondary, and tertiary educational levels.

STC has long been an advocate for the environment.

It is affiliated with the Redemptorist Center for
Social and Environmental Concerns, Kaabag sa
Sugbu Environment Committee, Natural Farming
Technology and Education Center (NAFTEC), and
the Coastal Conservation Education Foundation
(CCEF). The following semester, on that same year, the
program was implemented as an institution-
In partnership with the Cebu City government wide campaign. The main goal was to minimize
under its Community Involvement Program (CIP), waste and introduce household composting to the
STC implemented in 2010 the LMK program, students.
short for Lihok alang sa Malungtarong Kalikupan,
which in English means Action for a Sustainable After 3 years of implementation, there are now
Environment. All STC stakeholders, including 2 Takakura composting centers of STC. The first
maintenance personnel, canteen concessionaires, one is located near the grade school canteen and
teaching faculty, partner communities, and the fed by organic waste generated by the canteen
parents’ council, were oriented about the program concessionaires. The second one is located near
and subsequent adoption of Takakura composting. the Sentro sa Katilingban and is fed by the garden
waste from the trees and other waste sources
A pilot test was conducted by 3 NSTP (National around the campus. Both sites have already
Service Training Program) classes with 60 students harvested dozens of sacks of organic fertilizer,
each. Each student was given 1 Takakura basket now selling at 20 pesos per kilo.
as a project to finish by the end of the semester.
The results were positive, with a 90 percent of the STC shared its knowledge on composting with
students successfully harvesting compost. other educational institutions, particularly the
University of San Carlos, University of Southern
Philippines Foundation, Southwestern University,
Cebu Doctors University, University of the
Philippines Cebu Campus, and the University of San
Jose Recoletos. It has also partnered with nearby
Barangay Camputhaw. The latter lends them their
shredder bi-monthly while STC students conduct
their community outreach programs in the
barangay.

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 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

Best Practices
Talisay City and Lapulapu City:
Initiating Change for SWM Sustainability
Talisay City and Lapulapu City are two highly
urbanized cities that are part of Metro Cebu.
Talisay is located immediately to the south of People should learn the importance
Cebu City while Lapulapu lies across the Mactan of their role and that is to reduce their
channel, connected via bridges to Mandaue City.
wastes at the household level. Without
Talisay and Lapulapu currently have a population the people’s participation, the SWM
of 200, 772 and 350,467 respectively. Both
framework will not work.
are home to commercial establishments and
industries. Lapulapu is home to the metro’s biggest -Edwin L. Nierves OIC, CSWMP
industrial site, the Mactan Export Processing Zone.
In the past several years, many workers and their
families have chosen to live in these two emerging In Talisay, the sanitary landfill has been in existence
cities. for 7 years. It was estimated to have a lifespan of
15-20 years but recent assessment shows that
Because of urbanization and population growth, it might not last that long due to dumping of
solid waste management is a pressing concern in unsegregated waste and lack of compactors.
both cities. Talisay city established the CSWMP,
with Edwin L. Nierves currently serving as OIC to In response, Talisay trained several barangays
oversee the operations of the city’s landfill and in waste segregation and moved to strictly
daily garbage collection. Meanwhile Lapulapu implement the same. In barangay Mohon, Takakura
established its central material recovery facility. composting has been introduced along with
segregation and recycling activities. Three pilot
barangays have been designated for community-
based composting, namely Poblacion, Pook, and
Lawaan.

In Lapulapu on the other hand, a new central

MRF has been established after the closure of
its open dumpsite. Aside from employing a crew
of former dumpsite waste pickers to segregate
recyclable plastics and paper, the city has initiated
vermicomposting. The plastics are recycled, often
mixed with concrete to produce hollow blocks
and plant boxes. The fertilizer products from
composting are used in the city-owned garden
plots and green houses. The mayor has expressed
openness to try alternative methods such as
Takakura composting.

Both cities have a commitment to further improve

their SWM programs. It is hoped that eventually the
whole Metro Cebu will be able to fully implement
the 3 Rs.
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SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT IN CEBU

References
Cebu City, Cebu City Profile, Philippines, City Planning Population at 92.34 Million. http://www.census.
and Development Office, Cebu City Hall, 2007. gov.ph/content/2010-census-population-and-
Cebu Daily News. 30 September 2012. Mandaue housing-reveals-philippine-population-9234-
Officials Eyes Schools to Teach Takakura million
Composting. http://newsinfo.inquirer. A2D Project, 2011. Documenting Evidences for
net/280002/mandaue-official-eyes-schools-to- the Uptake of Climate Smart Disaster Risk
teach-takakura-compostingCebu City Population Management (CSDRM): The Case of the
and Poverty. NSO Family Income and Expenditure Municipality of San Francisco, Camotes Cebu.
Survey (FIES) 2007. Sarker, Rashid & Molla. Waste Plastic Converting into
Cebu Holdings Incorporated. 2011 Integrated and Hydrocarbon Fuel Materials. Natural State
Annual & Sustainability Report. http://www. Research Inc.
cebuholdings.com/our-2011-performance/ Takakura, Koji. 13 July 2012. The Takakura method
environment-0 of composting. A Presentation. Composting
Converting Waste Plastics to Fuels – Baseline Study Technical Training for Solid Waste Management.
Project. Assessment of Plastic Waste Management UNEP, Technology for Waste Management/
Systems and Practices. Cebu City, Philippines. Infrastructure – Cebu, Philippines, 2009,
Department of Public Services. Volume of Wastes http:// www.unep.or.jp/ietc/GPWM/data/.../
Collected from 1982-2011 in Cebu City. Compiled WP_5_T_TechnologyForWM_Cebu.pdf, referred on
by Premakumara 2011/2012. 21/05/2011
Filipino Investor Turns Plastic Trash into Liquid United Nations. Shanghai Manual: A Guide for
Gold. http://gotecotech.com/turn-plastic-into- Sustainable Urban Development of the
gasoline-diesel-kerosene/ 21st Century. Retrieved from http://
Kitakyushu International Techno-cooperative sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/
Association. March 2012. The Report for the documents/shanghaimanual.pdf, accessed on
Establishment of the Waste Management System November 14, 2012.
in Metro Cebu, the Philippines. World Bank (1999) What a Waste: Solid Waste
National Statistics Office. The 2010 Census of Management in Asia, Urban Development Sector
Population and Housing Reveals the Philippine unit, East Asia and Pacific Region, World Bank.

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Published by
KITA
Kitakyushu International Techno-cooperative
Association was established in July 1980 in
Kitakyushu City, Japan. It promotes international
cooperation based on mutual development of
developing countries and Japan. Today, after
nearly 30 years, KITA has trained more than
6000 people from partner organizations in other
countries in Asia. KITA has been in partnership
with the Cebu City local government unit since
2002.
Website: http://www.kita.or.jp

IGES
The Institute for Global Environmental
Strategies was established under an initiative
of the Japanese government in 1998. It is an
international research institute conducting
practical and innovative research for realizing
sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific
region.
Website: http://www.iges.or.jp/kitakyushu
http://www/kitaq-compost.net

A2D Project
A2D Project—Research Group for Alternatives
to Development, Inc. is a non-government, non-
profit research group that is committed to finding
innovative alternatives to address poverty,
exclusion and inequality in the Philippines,
especially in the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
Website: http://www.a2dproject.org

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