METRO Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWM), operator of the country’s first and only engineered sanitary landfill, said it is eyeing to start constructing next year its $210-million waste-to-energy facility in New Clark City
in Capas, Tarlac as part of its efforts in venturing into renewable energy generation in the Philippines.
MCWM President Rufo Colayco said on Thursday the initiative would involve transitioning from merely landfilling to high technology recycling and renewable energy generation.
He explained this would be done through developing an advanced centralized recycling facility at the waste management center where materials will be segregated for recycling and processing into secondary fuel.
The secondary fuel will then be used as the primary feed stock for a secondary fuel CHP (cogeneration or combined heat and power) which will generate up to 35 megawatt of electrical renewable energy for the New Clark City.
MWCM Founder Holder Holst said the Philippines produced about 700,000 tons of waste in 2018, which is projected to grow at about 77,765 tons of waste per day by 2025.
Once operational, he said the new facility would allow the company to collect at least 2,000 tons of wastes a day, covering about 20 percent of the wastes in the area.
According to Colayco, the company has been awaiting a response from the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), after MCWM submitted its “unsolicited” proposal in February this year.
“They wrote us finally last week and they said the what we have submitted needs additional information, which is so easy to do. What we could not believe is why it took eight months before they tell us [there are additional requirements we nned to comply with],” he said in mixed Filipino and English.
“I think he (referring to BCDA President and CEO Vince Dizon) also wrote sometime in June but all he said was the receipt, that’s all,” Colayco added.
Despite the delay, he said the MCWM was optimistic that once the project gets approval from the government, it can start construction of its million-dollar waste-to-energy power plant by “middle to late” part of 2020, provided that there will also be a six-month long bidding under Public-Private Partnership.
Meanwhile, Holst underscored the importance of building more engineered sanitary landfill amid the growing waste problem prevailing in many regions in the country.
