CEBU PUSHES BARANGAY INCENTIVES FOR BETTER WASTE MANAGEMENT

In an earnest attempt to ease the mounting pressure on Cebu City's landfill, the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) is charting a path toward more sustainable waste practices, this time with a renewed focus on community participation and accountability. At the heart of the board’s campaign is a proposal to reward barangays that show high waste diversion rates, essentially those that minimize the garbage sent to the landfill through segregation, recycling, and composting efforts. It's a forward-thinking approach that not only promotes environmental responsibility but also offers tangible motivation to local communities.

Emma Ramas, chairperson of the SWMB, underscored the urgency of action during an interview on February 2. Citing recent data, she shared that Cebu City generates around 585 tons of garbage daily, a figure that’s steadily rising. Ramas emphasized that if waste segregation had been consistently implemented across all 80 barangays, the city could have saved an estimated Php323 million last year alone—resources that could have gone toward public services or infrastructure improvements. Central to this plan is the revival of the “No segregation, no collection” policy, a strategy that was shelved in mid-2023 under a previous administration. This time around, the policy will come with a more holistic blueprint: composting biodegradable waste to support urban gardening in schools, churches, homes, and businesses—nurturing not just plants, but a culture of environmental stewardship.