THE Cebu City government has spent more than P2 billion for garbage collection in the past five years.Based on records from the Department of Public Services (DPS), the City already spent a total of P2.1 billion for their garbage collection activities from 2017 until mid-March of 2022.Lawyer Jigo Dacua, head of the DPS, said the total amount represents the spending figures in 2017 (P348 million), 2018 (P361.6 million), 2019 (P366.2 million), 2020 (P381 million), 2021 (P404 million), and 2022 from January to mid-March at P300 million.Dacua said the total amount spent included the truck rentals, tipping fees, and the salaries of garbage truck drivers and loaders.The DPS head said the City pays a P700 tipping fee for every truck that drops garbage in a landfill area in the mountain barangay of Binaliw and also rents a truck to collect the garbage that could not be accommodated by the barangays.Dacua explained that the City is paying P2,700 per ton of garbage to a private hauler for collecting garbage from households to the landfill, and another P1,300 per ton for haulers that will collect garbage from the transfer station to the landfill.For this year, Dacua said the City will still hire the services of private haulers but this will undergo a bidding procedure.The DPS is hoping that the 600 tons of garbage that they usually collect daily would lessen this year if people cooperate by segregating the biodegradable items from those that are non-biodegradable.Dacua said only wastes that could not be recycled or household hazardous wastes will be disposed at the landfill.