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BEYOND LANDFILLS WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF WASTE TREATMENT? www.businessmirror.com.ph
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Sunday, March 16, 2025 Vol. 20 No. 155
P25.00 nationwide | 2 sections 12 pages | 7 DAYS A WEEK
SOLID-WASTE stakeholders gather in Cebu after the trial emission testing of the first completed waste-to-treatment plant using thermal oxidation. JOEL C. PAREDES
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By Joel C. Paredes
OLLOWING an emissions testing for Cebu’s first “waste-to-energy” treatment plant using thermal oxidation, stakeholders are optimistic that modern waste management methods are poised for significant advancement in the Philippines. After they recently convened in Cebu City, they forged a consensus that waste treatment plants, both for general garbage and for wasteto-energy generation, must become a priority. This imperative, they said, extends beyond local governments to include private entities, particularly hospitals and businesses that produce industrial waste. While waste-to-energy technology is widely adopted in other countries, it is still in its early stages in the Philippines, according to Commissioner Dwight Ramos of the National Solid Waste Management Commission. “Eventually we are realizing that the waste you throw away will come back to you,” he said, citing the old mistaken notion that the “mayor will take care of it” as well as the attitude of ignoring garbage for being NIMBY or “not in my own backyard.”
“If the LGUs [local government units] don’t have funding, probably we can cluster them. So in their backyard, maybe a cluster of municipalities or cities [can] come together so they can afford at least a 20-totonner [waste treatment plant]. And they will not have to rely on biggerscale landfills to take care of them,” said Ramos. Citing his past experience when they operated a landfill in the former US military base in Clark in partnership with the Clark Development Corp., Ramos pointed out it was one of the biggest landfills in the country, because “the community was integrated and we were only talking to locators.” This time, Ramos said he hoped that the waste treatment technologies, including the use of thermal oxidation, will really be propagated in the country. “Technologies such as this are really important in order for us to cope with the growing waste
management problem in the country,” he said. Awaiting a permit-to-operate from the city government is the first waste-to-energy plant using thermal oxidation. The enterprise of the Canadian company EnEco is located at the Mactan Economic Zone in Lapu-Lapu City. The new plant is a fully-integrated waste treatment plant and disposal facility using EnEco’s second-generation technology, which is smaller, but more affordable. Jesus Jayme Jr., president of En-
Eco WtE Pacific Inc., acknowledged challenges in pursuing the project, including a “wait-and-see” attitude among political leaders. He also pointed out that these technologies aren’t always affordable. However, EnEco has developed smaller, more accessible units, ranging from five to ten tons, compared to the standard 20-ton units. EnEco’s current focus is on catering to businesses that generate industrial waste, such as those in the Cebu Mactan Export Process-
ing Zones. They’ve partnered with Juniper, a local marketing firm, to penetrate the hospital sector, which is particularly vulnerable to the longterm effects of improper solid waste disposal. Lt. Gen. Alan O. Okubo, chief of the Philippine National Police directorial staff who personally attended the meeting with ranking regional PNP officials, emphasized the critical need for modernized garbage collection systems within PNP camps across the country .
To illustrate the problem’s extent, he pointed out that even the PNP general headquarters struggles to maintain functional canteens due to inadequate waste disposals. He suggested a phased approach, beginning with the establishment of a waste treatment plant in a selected camp, which would then handle waste treatment from surrounding PNP facilities. Jayme believes that waste-to-energy technology can offer a viable alternative to incinerators, which have been deemed environmentally hazardous. He emphasized that while largescale energy generation is a longterm goal, the immediate priority is addressing the urgent problem of overflowing landfills and unsanitary dumpsites that are degrading the environment. Currently, the energy output of their equipment isn’t the primary consideration, as costeffective energy generation requires higher volumes of waste. The Mactan Cebu Export Processing Zone generates approximately 17 tons of waste daily. However, with the newly established plant located within the zone, it can process up to 15 tons daily over a sustained period, Jayme said. To begin, the plant is equipped with two 5-ton capacity units. Meanwhile, the policy support for waste-to-energy projects is strong. Recently, the Department of Energy announced it will conduct a separate green energy auction for Continued on A2
PESO EXCHANGE RATES n US 57.3360 n JAPAN 0.3881 n UK 74.2731 n HK 7.3773 n CHINA 7.9149 n SINGAPORE 42.9226 n AUSTRALIA 36.0185 n EU 62.2382 n KOREA 0.0395 n SAUDI ARABIA 15.2916 Source: BSP (March 14, 2025)