The Mandaue City Council has approved a memorandum of agreement (MOA) allowing Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano to hire a private hauling company to provide emergency waste collection and disposal services.
The decision was made during a special session on Thursday, January 22, following the suspension of operations at the Binaliw landfill after a landslide disrupted normal waste disposal and raised public health and environmental concerns.
Under the MOA, the city will engage Infinite Trading, also known as Infinite Hauling Services, on a three-month emergency contract from January 15 to April 15, 2026.
The disposal fee is set at P3.25 per kilogram, exclusive of value-added tax, with weekly billing and payment due within 15 calendar days.
The total cost of the contract is estimated at around P60 million.
Councilor Joel Seno said the contract aims to immediately prevent the accumulation of garbage in the city after the Binaliw landfill was placed under a cease-and-desist order.
“We all know that we have an emergency situation after the trashslide in Binaliw. The landfill was closed, so the city had to look for alternatives on where to dispose of its garbage,” Seno said.
Under the arrangement, waste collected from Mandaue City will be temporarily transferred to the Mandaue Green Learning Park (MGLP) in Barangay Umapad before being hauled to a designated disposal site in Barangay Garing, Consolacion.
The council unanimously approved the authority for the mayor to sign the MOA, citing the urgency of the situation to prevent a potential environmental disaster.
“The city might experience an environmental disaster if we don’t act immediately. That’s why we held a special session for this emergency situation,” Seno said.
While the contract covers only three months, the city government is exploring long-term waste management solutions, including potential disposal arrangements with neighboring local government units such as Naga City and Asturias.
Seno also stressed the importance of proper waste segregation at the household level to reduce the volume of garbage reaching landfills.
“If only about 10 to 15 percent of our waste reaches the landfill because most are recyclable or reusable, that would already be a big help,” he said. (VCL)
