THE POSSIBILITY that garbage from neighboring municipalities is being dumped in Iloilo City deserves a serious investigation. But the city government must not allow the suspicion of “imported” waste to distract from a more embarrassing fact: only about 30 percent of Iloilo City’s 180 barangays have functional Material Recovery Facilities (MRF).
That means roughly seven out of every 10 barangays are failing to fully comply with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. This is a systemic breakdown occurring at the very level where proper waste segregation, composting and recovery should begin.
Iloilo City generates more than 600 tons of garbage every day. Around 200 tons are estimated to be recyclable, yet a significant amount continues to be mixed with biodegradable and residual waste. Without functioning MRFs and composting facilities, recoverable materials are needlessly sent to the sanitary landfill, shortening its lifespan and increasing the cost of collection and disposal.
The surge in garbage collected from boundary barangays such as Santo Niño Sur, Ungka, Tacas, Buhang, Bitoon and Hibao-an is certainly concerning. Monitoring teams composed of barangay officials, the General Services Office and the City Environment and Natural Resources Office must establish whether waste is indeed crossing into the city from Oton, Pavia, Leganes, San Miguel or other neighboring areas.
If outsiders are using Iloilo City as their dumping ground, the practice must be stopped and those responsible held accountable. The city should coordinate with neighboring local governments, trace garbage haulers, inspect disposal routes and strengthen surveillance in vulnerable areas. Suspicion, however, must be supported by evidence.
But even if the investigation confirms that some garbage comes from outside the city, “imported” waste cannot explain away the widespread absence of functional MRFs. The larger failure remains internal. Many barangays rely on agreements with junk shops for recyclable materials, but food scraps and kitchen waste are still mixed with general garbage because composting facilities are unavailable.
Barangay officials cannot treat RA 9003 as an optional environmental program. The law requires waste segregation and the establishment of recovery facilities. Years after its enactment, continued noncompliance is no longer excusable. The city government must identify which barangays are compliant, which are only partially compliant and which have done practically nothing. Deadlines, technical assistance and corresponding sanctions must follow.
The Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility being constructed in Calajunan offers hope. Its anaerobic digestion system is expected to process 200 to 300 tons of organic waste daily, while the entire facility could handle as much as 400 tons. Mobile MRFs and the two electric food-waste collection trucks donated by the United Nations Development Programme could also strengthen the city’s capacity.
But these projects must not encourage complacency. A sophisticated centralized facility cannot replace discipline in households, businesses and barangays. If waste remains unsegregated at its source, even the most advanced system will eventually be overwhelmed.
Iloilo City should pursue both fronts with equal determination: stop any garbage entering illegally from neighboring towns and compel its own barangays to obey the law. The city cannot credibly complain about other municipalities’ waste while most of its barangays lack functional recovery facilities.
The garbage problem may be aggravated at Iloilo City’s boundaries, but it begins much closer to home — in every household that refuses to segregate, every barangay that neglects its duties and every official who tolerates years of noncompliance. Before pointing beyond its borders, Iloilo City must first clean up its own system.
