Payatas: A testimonial for good governance

“When we started the Payatas biogas project many are skeptical about its viability and thought that it is bound to fail, but we were able to prove them wrong – the Payatas dumpsite is a testimonial for good governance and sound political judgment.”

This is what Quezon City majority floor leader Ariel Inton told participants of a two-day World Bank roundtable discussion on efficient energy and climate change.

“The Payatas dumpsite is now popularly known as Quezon City Controlled Disposal Facility – the first of its kind in Southeast Asia and the Philippines’ first clean development mechanism,” Inton said.

The facility converts into electricity the biogas emissions from the decomposition of organic solid wastes in the disposal facility, Inton said.

He said the facility also contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gases by capturing methane from biogas collected from the dumpsite.

In concrete terms, Inton said the facility’s contribution to clean air is the annual reduction in greenhouse gases of 116,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

“Methane extracted is 5,400 tons per year lessening adverse effects on health, damage vegetation and cause of fire and explosion,” Inton said.

Inton also told World Bank energy experts that the facility generates employment, capacity building through transfer of technology and the improvement of slope stability of dumpsite, reducing incidences of trash slide.