On January 8, the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City collapsed, burying workers alive under mountains of waste. Locals called it a “trashslide.” The tragedy would not be the last of its kind in 2026.
Journalist Maverick Avila traces a devastating chain of waste-related disasters across the Philippines: the Binaliw trashslide, the Rizal landfill collapse, the Navotas landfill fire that burned for a month, and the Davao landfill collapse that followed. He speaks with Jhaylord Antigua, a safety officer who survived the Binaliw trashslide by what he calls “luck,” and who continues to work at the landfill to this day. He also sits down with Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, an environmental scientist and waste expert, to ask: why does this keep happening?