DESPITE mandates under Republic Act 9003, the majority of barangays in the city cannot afford to build their own Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF), officials admitted this week.
“We need to have a materials recovery facility as mandated by law, but ang mga barangay, dili pud maka afford (the barangays cannot afford it),” said League of Barangays President Marlon L. Tabac during a City Information Office (CIO) livestream on Nov. 26.
Tabac added that beyond budget constraints, most barangays simply do not have available land to host such facilities.
An MRF is essential for sorting recyclables and processing biodegradable waste. Without one, the segregation system fails.
Elvisa Mabelin, acting department manager of the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (CLENRO), emphasized in a separate interview that capacitating barangays is crucial to reducing the volume of waste sent to the sanitary landfill.
However, Tabac highlighted a critical flaw in the current setup: because barangays lack MRFs, even segregated waste often ends up in the same place as residual trash.
“The city collects the residual, where does it go? To our sanitary landfill. The barangay collects the biodegradable and recyclable, where does it go? Still to the sanitary landfill,” Tabac explained.
A centralized solution?
To address this impasse, the League of Barangays has recommended a strategic shift to City Mayor Rolando Uy and the local task force.
“In our discussions and recommendations, we saw that we should have a centralized materials recovery facility,” Tabac said.
He noted that a centralized system would prevent the landfill from filling up too quickly and provide economic opportunities for waste collectors, who could earn a percentage from the sale of recyclables.
The cost of compliance
Gold Star Daily research indicates that only a handful of barangays currently operate MRFs, including Barangays 22, 24, 25, Tablon, Consolacion, and Kauswagan.
The cost is a significant hurdle. A 2022 request for quotation from the city government showed that even a small-scale facility serving just three areas in Barangay Lapasan required a budget of P139,844.
The call for centralization comes as the city continues to navigate challenges with garbage collection, following recent transitions with a new waste management contractor.
