Cebu City has launched a waste diversion program that taps public school students to help reduce the volume of garbage sent to landfills, as the city continues to face rising waste disposal costs and limited landfill capacity.
Mayor Nestor Archival on Monday led the launch of the “Basura Namo, Kaugmaon Nato” program at Talamban Elementary School, the pilot site of the initiative that encourages students to practice proper waste segregation and bring recyclable and biodegradable waste from their homes to school.
Archival said the program aims to develop environmental responsibility among children while helping divert recoverable waste from disposal facilities.
“Kahibaw man gyud ta nga dako kaayo ang atong problema sa garbage,” Archival said.
“Ang direction sa city government mao ang pag-divert sa mga basura nga, imbis nga mapadulong sa landfill, mapadulong sa mga lugar diin mapuslan pa. Kung atong ma-reduce ang atong basura padong didto, mogamay ang atong bayran, and at the same time ang atong basura atong gi-kumpanya nga ma-manage og sakto para dili malabay bisag asa.”
He said the city hopes to involve its estimated 135,000 public school students in promoting proper waste management beginning at the household level.
“So, mao ni ang atong mga kabataan dinhi sa siyudad nga moabot og 135,000 kabuok, kung sila ang atong unahon, importante kaayo na ni sila kay mao man ni ang nagdala sa atong kaugmaon in the future sa atong siyudad,” he said.
Under the program, students are encouraged to bring properly segregated biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste from their homes or collect recyclable materials on their way to school.
The collected waste is weighed and recorded by class, with each section receiving an incentive of P0.50 for every kilogram collected.
During the launch, students of Talamban Elementary School turned over 170.2 kilograms of segregated waste, including 106.9 kilograms of biodegradable waste and 63.3 kilograms of non-biodegradable waste.
The materials will be brought to the city’s Ecostation for processing.
The program will initially be implemented at Talamban Elementary School before expanding to another public school in Cebu City’s South District as part of its pilot rollout.
The initiative forms part of the city government’s broader waste management strategy following the closure of the Binaliw landfill, which forced Cebu City to transport much of its garbage to Aloguinsan at significantly higher hauling costs.
Archival earlier said the city plans to redirect part of its waste hauling expenses into incentive-based waste diversion programs in schools and is considering setting aside as much as P500 million in its proposed 2027 budget to sustain the initiative.
He said reducing the amount of waste requiring disposal would help lower hauling costs while cultivating long-term environmental awareness among the city’s youth.
Photo courtesy of Cebu City News
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