“Basura na, naging pera pa!”
This was how Gov. Gwen Garcia describes a promising economic enterprise for the LGUs of the Province of Cebu who shall commit their plastic wastes to the City of Naga’s APO Cement Plant.
The cement factory, owned and operated by Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., is primarily powered by coal.
But 13% of its fuel demands have already been supplied by Refuse Derived Fuel or RDF which it gets from non-hazardous, residential, industrial, commercial, construction, and demolition waste collected from at least six LGUs in the Province, said Christer Gaudiano, corporate communications and public affairs director of Cemex.
“Instead of disposing it [waste] in a landfill, or worse, it goes in our waterways, we are able to use it as a fuel for our cement operations,” Gaudiano told Sugbo News after their meeting at the Capitol on Monday, January 22.
Gov. Garcia also told Daanbantayan Mayor Sun Shimura that she would wish for all LGUs of the province to avail of this yet trail-blazing initiative that basically addresses waste disposal problems in every LGU while earning an income at the same time, as Cemex shall pay the LGUs, through the Capitol, for every metric ton of waste that they shall deliver.
Mayor Shimura, who is also the president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP Cebu Chapter), promised to bring the matter to the mayor-members of the LMP Cebu for their decision in the soonest possible time as this is a priority project of Gov. Garcia.
According to a study conducted by private firm Waste Management Inc. (WMI), Cebu Province can produce an average of 2,000 metric tons of solid waste daily that could be used for Apo Cement’s RDF requirements.
WMI was represented by its CEO, Gener Dungo, in the meeting. The firm, a provider of integrated solid waste management solution in Metro Manila, has been eyed to haul plastic wastes from LGUs all over the province and to deliver them via Landing Craft Tanks, or LCT vessels, to the port of Apo Cement.
Gaudiano said with the partnership, they hope to increase Apo Cement’s RDF substitution by double digits, from 13% to as high as 90% RDF substitution by 2030. Currently, the cement plant is processing 150 metric tons of plastic waste daily for RDF.
“Imagine, we are able to use ‘raw material’ which is residual waste. Instead of putting this waste in a landfill or improperly disposing it, we are able to extend its life and use it as an alternative fuel for our operations,” Gaudiano said, adding that RDF is also much better alternative than coal which is carbon intensive. | IPA