A CEBU-BASED company wants to sell a solid waste processing system worth P470 million to the Cebu City government. The system can process up to 700 tons of mixed waste every day. It is composed of two automatic segregation machines and two pyrolysis machines. The proponent — Suki Trading Corp. — offers a way out for the city government, which is spending more than P4 million a day on hauling trash to a landfill some 60 kilometers from the city.
What raised my eyebrows in particular is the proponent, Suki Trading Corp. The company made it to the news last year in connection with its similar pyrolysis machine in Dumaguete City. Local environmentalists claimed that the facility’s emissions of fine particulate matter, that is, hazardous air pollution, exceeded allowable standards. Volunteers from War on Waste Negros Oriental, armed with AirBeam3 air quality monitors, measured air quality from October 2024 to February 2025.
The findings were released on June 12, 2025. Elevated levels of fine particulate matter in the vicinity of and in areas located in wind direction from the waste processing facility had been detected on most days.
Of course, some may dispute the findings. The people behind the emission monitoring project are known critics of pyrolysis. However, neither the local government nor the Environmental Management Bureau — tasked with monitoring air quality — had released any emission test results from the pyrolysis plant since the facility started operating in 2022. Either they didn’t test, or they didn’t want the public to know the results. Pyrolysis operations have been suspended since July 2025, though the official reason is lack of a permit to operate.
Suki owner Victoriano Ocon said that the hazardous emissions were most likely due to poor maintenance. “If you test [the pyrolysis machine] now without maintenance, I’m sure the levels [of particulate matter emissions and dioxin impurities] have really gone up,” Ocon told reporters (Metro Post, Aug. 17, 2025).
Suki’s “advanced waste solution” system comes with an “environmental pollution control device.” But there are pollution control devices and there are pollution control devices. Usually, they need to be replaced at regular intervals. Keeping emissions at safe levels at all times also requires constant and thorough monitoring and maintenance. LGUs, before procuring sophisticated equipment, should make sure to have both the personnel with the technical skills and safety awareness, and an adequate budget for maintenance and emission testing.
The local government paid P21.9 million “only” for the pyrolysis machine, sorting conveyors and other equipment. A small amount compared to the P470-million price tag for the package being proposed to the Cebu City government. Of course, Cebu City generates a lot more trash than Dumaguete City. A much larger population is, of course, the major reason for this. However, in addition, there has been no effort to reduce waste generation. In fact, business models that rely on single-use plastics have mushroomed. Household-level segregation was started, then stopped. Twenty-five years with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003), and we still haven’t even learned to bring our own reusable bags when we go shopping.
So, we entertain expensive waste management “solutions” that won’t require segregation despite the clear mandate of the law, “solutions” that run counter to the concept of waste reduction and “the increase [of] the efficiency of the use of paper, cardboard, glass, metal and other materials” as spelled out by RA 9003. We are quick to turn valuable resources into waste.
The efforts of Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival have so far focused more on what to do with waste rather than push hard for waste avoidance. However, the mayor has raised awareness about composting and how biodegradable waste can become a resource rather than a problem when properly separated from non-biodegradable waste. Biodegradable waste is mostly made up of organic matter such as food scraps, garden waste, agricultural waste and the like. This waste generates methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, which can cause explosions and fires in landfills.
Most of our waste is biodegradable and should never end up in landfills or incinerators. To quote a press release from the recently concluded Second Regional Congress on Organics and Climate organized by GAIA Asia Pacific, Dietplastic Indonesia and Aliansa Zero Waste Indonesia in Jakarta, Sept. 23-24, 2026: “Organic matter, primarily discarded food and agricultural matter, makes up 50 percent to 70 percent of the total municipal solid waste stream in Asia, rotting under anaerobic conditions in landfills and open dumps, generating climate super-pollutants such as methane.” It should be diverted and turned into a “soil amendment that can be used to build soil health and provide nutrients to plants” (US Environmental Protection Agency).
“When communities prevent food waste and sort organics at the source, we win twice: we cut methane emissions at the source and eliminate the toxic landfill fires choking our neighborhoods,” according to the Jakarta statement. In fact, we win not only twice but three times: Reducing food waste and using compost to restore soil health are easily available, low-cost tools in the fight against rising food insecurity.