Consortium's dumpsite plan pushed

CEBU, Philippines - The Solid Waste Management Board has approved and recommended the proposal of a foreign consortium to remediate the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill at no cost to the city government.

In Resolution No. 2, Series of 2012, the waste management board recommended to Mayor Michael Rama the Integrated Waste Management Agreement submitted by Greenergy Solutions Inc.

Lawyer Janeses “Jade” Ponce, presiding officer of the waste management board, said that the IWMA submitted by GSI through its chairman and CEO Ruth Briones is a 25-year development project that shall include remediation and waste-to-energy operations.

“The project will not require expenses or funds from the City Government of Cebu which is provided under a long term management agreement under the concept of Public Private Partnership. In other words, not a single centavo from public funds will be used for its development,” Ponce said in a press statement.

Phase 1 of the projects is the implementation of the Cebu City landfill gas and waste-to-energy project, which is under Project 4669 of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change as a clean development mechanism project.

GSI and its partners will construct a waste-to-energy facility at the Inayawan landfill to treat industrial, commercial and household waste and recover energy in the process.

“The proposed development will use robust and proven technology to recover energy as well as recyclable metals from residual waste that is currently landfilled or exported. The facility will employ technology to process up to 1,000 tons per day of residual waste and daily fresh waste and produce approximately 24 megawatts of electricity,” Ponce said.

The energy recovery will be in a form of Refused Derived Fuel where the residual waste at the landfill, estimated at 1.8 million tons, will be processed to produce “syngas” to generate power that will be sold for additional revenue.

“The daily generated biodegradable waste is subjected into an anaerobic digester that will produce biogas. Both biogas and thermal gasifier generate electricity to be sold as renewable energy,” Ponce added.

The project will also include the remediation phase where the 17-hectare landfill will be reclaimed and remediated. The landfill was closed last December from all forms of dumping.

Ponce said that the city will continue to dump its garbage in Consolacion town until the GSI project is fully operational.

“It would be quite difficult for us to explain to the ordinary taxpayers had we chosen to endorse the other proposals which cost a lot in taxpayer’s money when the IWMA proposed by GSI is virtually free. We can no longer afford to delay action as each day that passes by will only increase the city government’s burden in handling the burgeoning solid waste problem,” Ponce said.

The city government’s share in the project is only the access to the landfill, assistance in the securing of permits and technical and engineering assistance.

“I believe in principle that it is best when the government is participating the least. Furthermore, since no public funds or property is ever involved in this proposed project the opportunity for graft and corruption is practically eliminated,” Ponce said.  (FREEMAN)