Metro Manila and other areas in the country, which have yet to find a sustainable solution to the problem of solid waste disposal, can learn a thing or two from Clark and Subic as well as other areas in Luzon.
Both Clark and Subic freeports and over 100 cities and municipalities in Central and Northern Luzon are being now served by a world-class sanitary landfill facility which is both environment and eco-friendly.
This ISO-certified waste disposal site is of course the complete opposite of many unsanitary and illegal dumpsites as well as open dumpsites which are now the subject of an intensified hunt by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Over the past decade and since it started actual operations, Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. has put a premium on environmentally safe and efficient waste disposal, which is one of the reasons why it was able to secure triple-ISO certificates, making it one of the very few if not the only sanitary landfill to have such distinction.
And soon, other areas will benefit from its operation as the country’s first high technology sanitary landfill goes full steam and as it sets it sights to cater to a larger market starting early this year, according to Holger Holst and Rufo Colayco, founder and president respectively of MCWMC, during a press briefing at its main landfill facilities in Sitio Kalangitan, Capas, Tarlac.
Armed with world-class German technology, the Tarlac-based lone ISO-certified engineered sanitary landfill currently caters to more than 100 local government units in Central Luzon including two of the country’s major economic zones including its respective locators and residents – the Clark and Subic Freeports based in Pampanga and Zambales respectively.
According to company officials, the volume of garbage and wastes currently being handled by Metro Clark’s 100-hectare facility in Tarlac has substantially increased from 1,600 tons in 2018 to 3,000 tons.
Among its biggest customers are the cities of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, Angeles in Pampanga and Tarlac City in Tarlac province.
Company officials said that while they are currently catering to a few LGUs in Northern Luzon that includes Pangasinan, La Union, and Baguio City, they see positive developments and opportunities to cater to the landfill requirements and to provide disposal services to Bulacan and Metro Manila.
Of the 100 hectare Kalangitan Sanitary landfill, 70 hectares are dedicated for the landfil and 10 hectares for recycling facilities while 15 hectares are set aside as environmental buffer and five hectares for offices and other uses.
The landfill integrates cutting-edge technology and highly advanced engineering to control and totally mitigate any possible pollutants such as poisonous gas and foul-smelling liquids produced by decaying wastes.
Officials pointed out that unlike other landfill sites, the wastes being delivered to Metro Clark’s main disposal facility guarantees safety and protection of the environment.”
But from mere landfill, the Clark Integrated Facility operated by MCWMC is also moving to high-technology recycling and renewable energy generation. Colayco said that the company is set to build facilities for renewable energy generation out of collected garbage and waste within next year, saying that their waste-to-energy facilities will bring waste to the next level and help ensure that the company will be ready to accommodate the projected volume of waste to be generated by cities and municipalities in the Central and Northern Luzon region.
As planned, the company will develop an advance 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 which will generate up to 35 megawatts of electrical renewable energy for the New Clark City.
The move will reduce the amount of residual waste at the landfill by 70 percent, extending the lifespan of system for at least 50 years and reducing the emission of landfill leachate and landfill gas by virtually eliminating the disposal of organic waste in the landfill.
Colayco said that MCWMC is transforming waste to usable energy and generating auspicious possibilities for the generations to come as it could guarantee secured and sustainable waste management solution for Central Luzon for more decades to come.
MCWMC is a joint venture of Filipino and German investors (BN Ingenuire GmbH and Heers & Brockstedeth Umwelttechnik GmbH. Its main facility is built based on internationally accepted standards which substantially exceed the Philippines’ sanitary landfill standards as stipulated under Republic 9003 or the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000.
According to officials, the company has already invested hundreds of millions of pesos to put up the facility including critical infrastructure projects such as roads leading to and from the main facilities, among others.
The landfill integrates cutting edge technology and highly-advanced engineering to control the poisonous gas and foul smelling liquid produced by decaying wastes. The wastes delivered and disposed to the site undergo a meticulous process to guarantee safety and protection to the environment.
MCWMC’s German partners have over 30 years experience in local solid waste management business and have installed worldwide more than 2,500 MW in renewable energies (wind, waste, solar). It has gained 60 years international experience in waste management and environmental engineering.
For comments, e-mail at mareyes@philstarmedia.com