City’s waste to energy project is model in waste management

Cebu City’s waste-to-energy initiative was recently chosen as a model in solid waste management and was presented yesterday at the Solid Waste and Hazardous Waste Management Summit held at the Cebu Midtown Hotel.

Some three hundred participants from both the private and government sector expressed admiration in what the city has done to manage its waste and many local government units from other parts of the country said they want to follow suit.

Cebu City’s waste-to-energy treatment facility is in the Inayawan landfill.

The city government launched last week its 100-kilowatt biogas pilot power plant that will treat and reduce the garbage dumped at the city’s landfill by converting it into gas that will produce electricity.

The Philippine Bio-Sciences Co. Inc., the contractor of the project, presented the initiative yesterday during the summit.

City administrator Francisco Fernandez, who was present during the event, said that the city government is very proud because the city’s initiative in converting waste to energy was chosen as among the best practices in solid waste management in the country.

“Cebu City feels very proud because this is the first of its kind in the Philippines,” he said.

Aside from converting the garbage dumped at the landfill into biogas to produce power, the city government will also soon be operating its waste-to-energy air-conditioning system at the newly renovated City Hall legislative building.  The project will also be undertaken by PhilBio.

Grace Garcia of the Cebu Link Management Services, the organizer of the summit, said that other than Cebu City, other practices of LGUs that will be presented during the summit are those of Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte; and Bais City, Negros Oriental.  For the private sector, Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital and Fairchild Semiconductors will also present their best practices in solid waste management at the second day of the summit today.

Yesterday afternoon, Hole Cem, Cebu Common Treatment Facility, Pollution Abatement System Specialist and Phil-Japan Refined Products presented their respective practices on how to manage hazardous waste.

Garcia said that they chose these LGUs and companies to present their best practices for the other participants to learn from and duplicate if they want.  — Wenna A. Berondo/BRP