Establishment of the Community-Based Solid Waste Management System

in Metro Cebu, the Philippines*

1. Introduction

Since 2010, a Community-

Based Solid Waste
Management (CBSWM)
System Development Project
has been implemented by
Cebu City with the technical
assistance of the Kitakyushu
International Techno-
Cooperative Association
(KITA), the Institute for
Global Environmental
Strategies (IGES) and the
JPOWER Group/Jpec in
Kitakyushu City, Japan. It was
funded by the Japan Fund for
Global Environment (JFGE)
and aims to improve the solid
waste management system in
Cebu City, with an emphasis
on applying source separation
and organic waste recycling Figure 1: Location of Cebu City in the Cebu Province    
through promotion of
decentralized composting to reduce the amount of waste placed in landfills. It is further
attempted on achieving 10% waste reduction target in the Metro Cebu Area by sharing the
successful experiences of Cebu City with other municipalities. This brief note therefore
summarises the key activities carried out under the project and major achievements so far and
also gives some future plans.

2. Before the project implementation: collection and disposal oriented municipal waste
management system

Cebu city is one of the historical cities in the central part of the Philippines. It is bounded by
Mandaue City in the North and Talisay City in the South. On the East is Mactan Channel and
on its West are the Municipality of Balamban and the City of Toledo. Historically, it was a
small fishing village. Later in 1521, Cebu City was developed into a port city and since, then
it has been grown into a highly urbanized metropolitan area. At present, Cebu is the second
largest growth centre in the Philippines, next to Manila. The economic activities in the city
are dominated by the trade and service sectors. Due to its strategic location and easy
accessibility by air and sea transport, the information and communication technology (ICT)
and tourism industries are leading the economic growth in the city.
                                                            
*
 This brief note is prepared by D.G.J.Premakumara, a Policy Researcher of Kitakyushu Urban Center (KUC) of 
the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), February 2012   

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The city is governed by the Council
elected by the citizens and empowered
within its jurisdiction. The Council is
headed by the Mayor. Under the Mayor,
all other departments and offices as
required under the Local Government
Code are established to implement its
policies, plans and priority programmes.
The Department of Public Services
(DPS) is responsible for solid waste
management and disposal in the city.

For the effective governance of the city

services, the municipal functions are
decentralized into a barangay, a
smallest local government unite, which
is headed by a baranagay caption. Cebu
City has a total land area of 326.10 aq.
km and is divided into 80 barangays.
About 50 of the 80 barangays in the city
are located in the urban areas, which are
occupied 20% of total lands, while the
balance 30 barangays are scattered in
the rural areas, which are
accommodated 80% of total lands in the
city. A domestic waste collection and
transportation is the main responsibility Figure 2: Land Use Map of Cebu City. Source: Cebu City, 2011
of the barangays.

As Table 1 shows, the total population of Cebu City was 718,821 people and 137,864
households in 2000, which was equivalent to 42% of the total population of the Metro Cebu
and 30% of the entire population of the province. Although trend shows a slightly decline in
growth rate, it has recorded highest population density and also biggest floating population
(the population, who are visiting the city from outside for jobs or getting its services) in the
province.

Table 1: Total Population and Annual Growth Rate of Cebu City, Metro Cebu, Province and the
Philippines
Total Population in Population Density per Sq. Annual Growth Rate,
2000 Km in 2000 1995-2000 (%)
Cebu City 718,821 2,204 1.77
Metro Cebu 1,693,881 1,990 2.26
Province 2,377,588 603 3.07
Philippines 76,498,735 229 2.36
Source: City Planning and Development Office, Cebu City, 2007

Solid waste management is considered to be one of the most serious environmental issues in
Cebu City. Rapid urbanization and economic growth has resulted in a corresponding growth

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of solid waste, which is found difficult to manage by both barangays and municipal
government. In 1982, the city generated only 212 tons/day of municipal waste. However, this
volume had risen to 420 tons/day by 2010. Further, the capacity of the Inayawan landfill site,

Figure 3: The Cebu City's Landfill Site in Inayawan. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011 

which was constructed under the financial and technical assistance of the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 1998, reached it maximum capacity and finding new sites is
becoming an increasingly difficult task, due to the scarcity of suitable land within the
municipal boundaries.
Since the enactment of the Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste
Management Act of 2000, Cebu City has taken some efforts to manage waste based on the
concept of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycling). A Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB)
was established in 2003 under the leadership of the Mayor to take necessary policy, legal and
institutional recommendations. A 10 year Plan for Solid Waste Reduction in Cebu City was
drafted in 2005 with the technical assistance of Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, under the
Resource Cities Programme of the International City/County Management Association.
Under the Kitakyushu Initiative Network for a Clean Environment (2000/2010), which was
initiated by Kitakyushu City and the IGES with the assistance of the United Nations
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), Cebu City had also
set target to reduce waste to be land filled by 50% by 2015. Though Cebu City government
committed considerable efforts and investment to improving its solid waste management
system based on the 3Rs, lack of public responsiveness and awareness, as well as not having
an integrated and strategic approach or an appropriate institutional understanding of technical,
managerial and ideological issues prevents opportunities from being fully realized.

3. Alternative waste management system: implementation of decentralized composting

and resource recovery system at source

As an alternative for the growing issue, a new waste management system was developed
based on the experiences of Surabaya’s successful community-based solid waste management
model, which is one of the main outputs of the Kitakyushu Initiative Network for a Clean
Environment. Surabaya’s achievement exemplifies how a city can reduce a large amount of
waste in a short period of time by integrating composting into municipal solid waste
management. After realizing the benefits of the Surabaya’s model, Cebu City scaled-up the
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decentralized composting activities city-wide adopting the following supportive policy
instruments.

3.1. City Resolution

The city adopted a No Segregation and No Collection Policy in April 2011 and started to
educate citizens to separate waste at source into biodegradable, non-biodegradable,
recyclables and residual aiming to meet the goals of RA 9003. Not only adopted, but also the
policy is strictly enforced and those who are violated, they will be fined or imprisoned under
the City Ordinance No.1361 and No.2031.

3.2. Creation of new carder

A system of Barangay Environmental Officers (BEOs) was established, recruiting five staff
from each barangay based on the community leader elements. The BEOs were trained to play
an effective role of information providers in their respective barangays and also have a
responsibility to enforce the municipal policies, monitor proper waste collection, assist in
establishing Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and manage the composting schemes. For the
coordination of the activities of BEOs, a Cebu Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team
(CESET) was established.

3.3. Support for establishing material recovery facility (MRF) at barangay level

The city has taken efforts to allocate both financial and technical assistance for establishing
MRF at barangay level. The annual municipal budget (20,000 Peso (40,000 yen) for each
barangay) was allocated to support the efforts of barangays in establishing composting
centres, which can be used for covering the construction costs and buying required tools and
equipments. In addition, city has provided necessary trainings for the barangay staff too.
Further, a number of competitions, including the best environmental barangay, were started
in partnership with the private sector and the media to motivate and strengthen community
participation, and encourage them to improve their neighbourhood environment.

3.4. Partnership with other stakeholders

Cebu City also strengthened partnerships with other stakeholders such as the Women’s
Network, home owners associations, local NGOs, waste pickers, academic institutions,
private ventures and the media. In addition, a series of awareness raising campaigns was
organized with these different stakeholders covering all municipal districts.

4. Promotion of composting at city-wide

The above enabling policy resulted in establishing model composting schemes at different
scale at different level, such as household, neighbourhood initiatives or barangay composting
schemes, small-scale private sector composting enterprises, and initiatives of companies and
institutions composting on their premises.

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 4.1. Distribution of compost baskets to individual households

Figure 4: Training and distribution of compost baskets to the residents. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011 

Cebu City distributed composting baskets as a simple way to treat organic waste at
households. The BEOs share information on the household composting and educate residents
in their neighbourhoods with the assistance of the women’s organization, home owners
associations and NGOs about the benefits of keeping the environment clean and green. After
households have gained sufficient knowledge of the functions of the compost basket and also
have interested to use it, those who were selected to receive the free baskets from the city.
People were educated about the way to cut their kitchen waste into small piece and put them
into the compost basket. In two to three weeks, the organic waste is converted into compost
that is commonly used to grow vegetables and herbal plants in their home gardens using their
own household compost.
Table 2: The distribution list of Composting Basket in Cebu City
Barangay Punta Princesa 71
Barangay Inayawan 51
Barangay Quiot 134
Barangay T. Padilla 4
Barangay Capital Site 13
Barangay Ermita 29
Barangay Guadalupe 136
Barangay Labangon 183
Barangay Sambag 11 20
Barangay Tisa 30
Barangay Tag Bao 40
Barangay Mambaling 71
Barangay Luz 25
Barangay Carrita 25
Cebu Environmental Sanitation Enforcement Team 465
(CESET)
Others 1053
Total 2,350
Source: Cebu City. Compiled by Premakumara, 2010/2011

The recyclable materials are collected separately and sold to the junk shops. According to the
Table 2, the city officials have already distributed about 2,350 baskets within the city limit.
However, it was identified that this approach could be very effective in the neighbourhoods
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where residents have a good education on the environment, basic knowledge on how to make
composting, commitment to use the basket and availability of effective follow-up and
monitoring system. At present, BOEs are involved in following up with monitoring
household baskets and troubleshooting by helping households with their composting
activities.

4.2. Construction and operation of model composting schemes at barangays

Figure 5: Composting facilities in barangay Talamban and Luz. Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011

With the technical and financial assistance of Cebu City, some barangays have established
their own composting schemes. These composting schemes are small in scale (less than one
ton/day) and largely rely on segregated waste from nearby residents and/or market waste. The
residents are educated to separate waste at source. Separated organic waste is then collected
by the BEOs and transported to the composting facility. In some cases the waste collectors
also sort mixed waste into different factions during the collection process, as not all
households in the collection area can be persuaded to segregate the biodegradable fraction. At
the composting facility, biodegradable waste is treated by using vermin composting (this
system has existed in Cebu City, when the project was started. A special types of worms,
such as the redworm, African nightcrawler and the European crawler produce compost and
also multiply fast and can be sold at a high price) and/or windrow method with native
microorganism (this method was introduced by Koji Takakura, an expert from Kitakyushu
City and is now widely popular as the “Takakura Method”). The compost product is mainly
used for the greenery of the neighbourhood or sold in the neighbourhood, where marketing
strategies are limited to personal contact among the collectors or core members of the
associations. Compost prices have range from 8 Peso to 20 Peso (16-40 yen) per 1kg, which
also reflects the middle and high income users targeted in the areas where these schemes are
often located. The main challenges for these schemes are cooperation of residents, finding
lands in suitable locations, odour complaints by the nearby residents, especially for vermin
compost facilities and the lack of capacity, interest and willingness of the barangay staff.
4.3. Medium-scale business oriented enterprises

These composting schemes are run by individual entrepreneurs, NGOs and cooperatives at
barangays, who have identified the organic waste treatment and recycling as a business
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opportunity and found a market for the end products. Entrepreneurs have invested private
money in the business or taken loans. The cooperatives on the other hand got financial
assistance from their barangays and private ventures to cover the initial capital costs. They all
focus on pure organic waste streams such as waste from vegetable, fruits or flower markets as
well as residuals from business premises rather than household collections. The scale of the
composting facilities is varied from one to two tons/day and the composting methods are
usually similar to the ones already mentioned. After the compost is matured, it will be
packed and ready to market. Each composting facility has its own marketing strategies and
most commonly the compost product is sold through a fertilizer distribution company. For
additional income, some entrepreneurs act as consultants for associations or companies
wanting to start composting activities or cross-subsidize the composting activities with the
revenues from waste collection fees and selling of the recyclable materials. These composting
facilities with a business approach provide job opportunities to low income groups. Both
male and female workers profit from the business, they are employed for waste collection,
sorting, composting or as drivers. The key challenges faced by these composting facilities are
finding a suitable land, initial capital for covering the cost, difficulties in covering the cost
only through the sale of composting, sometimes complains from nearby residents, and lack of
support from barangays and a city government. It was also identified that these small
business composting facilities are often lack regular book-keeping and data management. The
scarcity of data and unclear financial figures bring barangay and city officials difficult in
taking any decision for financial support.

Figure 6: Composting and material recovery facility is managed by the Home Owners Association in baranagay Apas. 
Photo: Premakumara, 2010/2011 

4.4. Composting at institution and company premises

These composting schemes are set in different organizational setup. They are initiated and
operated by the institution or company to treat the organic waste generated within their own
premises. The decision to start the composting facility results an unreliable waste collection
service from the barangay, cost savings aspects or environmental consciousness. The
employees of the institution operate the facilities themselves. The composting methods and
scales of operation that are chosen in these schemes are usually similar to the ones already
mentioned. The methods mostly observed was bin or box composting in combination with
windrow/native microorganism method. The compost produced is mostly used on the
premises and some for marketing. While a company or institution has to pay the barangay for
transport of waste from their premises to the landfill, savings of collection and transport fees
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can be achieved by recycling and composting. The advantage of this type of composting
scheme is relatively ease and speed of decision making as well as tight monitoring of a
scheme. Decisions are usually taken by the in-charge of environmental department of the
organization and less dependent on municipal collaboration. However, by offering incentives
and technical assistance to companies, municipality can facilitate the process of initiating
composting programmes at institution level.

Figure 7: Composting facilities at SunPride Company (left) and Handuraw Pizza Restaurant (right). Photo: Premakumara, 

2010/2011 

5. Achievements so far

The experiences of Cebu City reveal some of the advantages of decentralized composting,
such as the improved environmental conditions in residential areas through establishing
appropriate waste collection and treatment at the neighbourhoods and also increasing
environmental awareness among residents. According to the city estimation, about 60% of
residents are involved in waste separation at source. The number of violators of No
Segregation and No Collection Policy has also been decreased as shown by the Figure8.

2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000 Total No. of Violate in
800 2011
600
400
Source: Office of Committee on 
200
Environment. Compiled by 
0 Premakumara, 2011/2012 
April July October
Figure 8: The Number of Violators of No Segregation and No Collection Policy, Apr‐Dec, 2011 

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Further, by treating solid waste near to the source, it minimizes transportation costs, reduces
the amount of wastes for landfills, prolongs the life of landfills, and saves municipal costs for
landfill management.

450
400
350
300 Total Waste
Transported
250
to Landfil
200 (tons/day)
150
100
50 Source: Department of Public 
0 Services. Compiled by 
1982 2001 2008 2010 2011 2011 Premakumara, 2011/2012 

Apr Nov
Figure 9:  The Total Waste Transported to Landfill, 1982‐2011

According to the Figure 9, about 16% waste reduction of waste deposited at the landfill was
achieved by 2011, saving the municipality tipping fees for landfills, which can be estimated
as 17 million Pesos (34 million yen) annually. There has also been a reduction of greenhouse
gases generated in landfills through composting in Cebu City.

Table 3: The creation of job opportunities through composting and material recovery facility in barangay
Luz in 2011
No of new job Average monthly Total monthly income
opportunities are created income in Peso generated in Peso
Direct job opportunities at the composting facility and the material recovery facility
Waste separation, 15 6,000 (12,000 yen) 90,000 (180,000 yen)
collection and transport to
the facility
Composting facility 6 6,000 (12,000 yen) 36,000 (72,000 yen)
Eco centre assistant 2 3,000 (6,000 yen) 6,000 (12,000 yen)
In-direct job opportunities created with the programme
Collection of recyclable 40 1,500 (3,000 yen) 60,000 (120,000 yen)
materials
Production of handicrafts 75 1,500 – 3,000 (3,000- 112,500 (225,000)
from the recyclable 6,000 yen)
materials
Household composting and 200 500 – 1,000 (1,000- 100,000 (200,000 yen)
making worms for selling 2,000 yen)
Total 338 404,500 (809,000 yen)
Source: Barangay Luz. Compiled by Premakumara and St. Teresas College, 2012

The experiences of Cebu City further recognized the potential of decentralized composting in
creating new job opportunities and extra incomes for the urban poor and waste pickers. As
barangay Luz, a successful model barangay in Cebu City shows, it’s composting and
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recycling activities resulted in creating about 338 new job opportunities for the poor residents
giving them additional income which is equivalent to 404,500 Pesos ( 0.8 million yen) per
month (see Table 3).

The experiences of barangay Luz further highlighted that such an approach not only creates
economic opportunities within the neighbourhoods, but also facilitates spaces for community
involvement, building partnerships and social capital for achieving sustainable development
at the neighbourhood level.

Figure10: Composting creates new partnership and awareness to keep neighbourhoods clean and green. Photos: Premakumara, 
2010/2011 

6. Conclusion and future expectations

In order to overcome the growing environmental problem of waste disposal, it is critical to

find new approaches that promote recycling of not only inorganic wastes but also organic
wastes, which are often the larger portion of municipal wastes in developing countries. The
experiences of Cebu City shows that how a city can reduce a large amount of waste in a short
period of time, achieving environmental and social benefits with strong economic benefits, by
integrating decentralized composting into municipal solid waste management. Experience
further shows that the successful implementation of decentralized composting requires to
consider a holistic approach, integrating all the elements of the composting process (waste
separation, collection, transport, treatment and product
utilization), and key stakeholders, who have different
interests, skills and resources to participate in
composting. A clear vision, strong political commitment
and change in attitudes as well as technical, financial,
legal and institutional capacity of the municipality
enabled the necessary environment for it to happen.
In this year, Cebu City is expecting to expand the pilot
experiences further within the city. As shown by Figure
10, a one-day seminar was organized in January 2012 Figure 11: A one‐day seminar was held for 
barangay representatives at city hall. Photos: 
inviting representatives from all barangays in the city to Premakumara, 2012 
share the lessons learned from the pilot barangays and to

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discuss the future strategies for the replication. As a follow-up to this seminar, Cebu City is
now calling proposals from barangays which are interested to adopt the decentralized
composting.
The KITA and IGES aim to share the experiences of
Cebu City with other cities in the Metro Cebu and the
Philippines this year. As a first attempt, an experience
of Cebu city was shared with Mandaue City. An expert
meeting was organized in January 2012 inviting
members of urban poor federation, a largest network of
community-based organizations in Mandaue City and
the staff of the solid waste management section of the
city government. The participants discussed how to
adopt the Cebu Model within their existing municipal
solid waste management system and agreed to start in Figure12: Some participants attended to the 
expert meeting in Mandaue City. Photo: 
implementing a model project in a selected barangay. Premakumara, 2012 

Further, as a request of the College of Education,

University of the Philippines, Diliman and the Ayala
Foundation, a discussion was held in January 2012 at
the Diliman campus about how to share the
experiences with the cities of Queszon and Makati. It
also aims to share the experiences of Cebu city with the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) and the National Solid Waste Management
Commission (NSWMC) for national policy application.
In addition, Cebu City was invited to attend the 3rd
High Level Seminar on Sustainable Cities under the Figure13: A meeting at the University of 
framework of the East Asia Summit Environment Philippines. Photo: Premakumara, 2012 
Ministers meeting will be held in Siem Reap,
Cambodia in the early March 2012 to share its experience with other cities from East Asia.

Inquiries and Further Information

Mr. Masaya Nagaishi Dr. D.G.J.Premakumara Ms. Nida C. Cabrera

Kitakyushu International Techno- Kitakyushu Urban Center, Institute for Chair of Committee on Parks &
Cooperative Association (KITA), Global Environmental Strategies Playground, Wildlife, Ecology &
Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low (IGES) Environment, Cebu City
Carbon Society, International Village Center, 2F, 1-1-1, City Hall Bldg, City Hall Lane, Cebu
International Village Center, 2F, 1-1-1, Hirano, Yahata-Higashiku, Kitakyushu City 6000, Philippines
Hirano, Yahata-Higashiku, Kitakyushu City, 805-0062, Japan
City, 805-0062, Japan Tel:81-93-681-1563
E-mail:premakumara2iges.or.jp

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