Baguio spends up to P200M yearly to haul residual waste

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The city spends between P150 million and P200 million a year to transport its residual waste to an engineered sanitary landfill in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan, underscoring the high cost of operating without its own final disposal facility.

Assistant City General Services Officer Ma. Guadalupe Della said the city continues to shoulder the multimillion-peso hauling cost because it has yet to establish its own final solid waste disposal facility.

In a statement issued by the Baguio City Public Information Office (PIO) on Saturday July 11, Della was quoted as saying that the city expects the cost of hauling waste to decline once its planned central Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) is completed at the temporary waste transfer station in Barangay Dontogan. The facility is expected to reduce the volume of residual waste that needs to be transported outside the city.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: Baguio eyes trash cut as landfill closure looms

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

She said residual waste hauled out of Baguio peaked at around 230 tons in March before declining in the succeeding months and increasing again during the rainy season, reflecting fluctuating waste generation across the city’s barangays.

READ: SC ruling guides Baguio’s planned environmental fee hike

Despite the erratic volume, Della said the city’s waste output has remained manageable due to improved compliance by residents with waste segregation policies and sustained efforts by barangay officials to enforce solid waste management measures.

The city has also intensified its circular economy program, which promotes recovering and reusing materials that would otherwise end up in landfills. Among its initiatives is converting collected plastic waste into armchairs for use in public schools.

Article continues after this advertisement

To strengthen waste segregation at the source, the city has deployed garbage trucks to six pilot barangays—Irisan, Dominican-Mirador, Guisad Central, Gibraltar, Bakakeng Central, and Happy Hallow—for the separate collection of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste.

The local government also recognized 18 barangays for helping collect single-use plastics that were recycled into 45 armchairs, which were donated to Baguio Central School for use by Grade 3 pupils. —MAUREEN MATAYEW/CONTRIBUTOR

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.