THROUGH the partnership of ARN Central Waste Management Inc. and Amsterdam Waste and Environment Consultancy Technology (AWECT), Cebu City may soon have an improved solid waste management program.

ARN president Sherwin Santos, the operator of a private sanitary landfill in Barangay Binaliw, believes the partnership would hasten the development of its waste-to-energy facility.

On Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, Santos and AWECT’s chief technology officer Sietsea Agema signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a WTE plant in Cebu City.

Originally, ARN planned to build a WTE facility and material recovery facility in five years.

Under the MOU, ARN will now be joined by AWECT in developing an integrated WTE technology.

ARN was supposed to be the disposal facility that would receive Cebu City’s garbage after it won the contract bid out by the previous administration.

However, the administration of Mayor Edgardo Labella cancelled the P65 million contract in July, citing ARN’s violations of environmental laws.

For now, ARN receives garbage only from private haulers. It stopped accepting garbage from local government units (LGU) following the pronouncement of Labella that it should not accommodate garbage from other LGUs.

With the partnership with AWECT, Santos hopes they could accommodate the garbage of Cebu City again and also those from other local government units.

AWECT, a Dutch company, offers ARN “highly efficient waste management” through WTE technology.

The consortium aims to execute the necessary feasibility study, conceptual design study, basic engineering study and all other works that may be necessary for the development of the facility.

The WTE facility would cost $200 million, and it will take a year to complete.

Once completed, Santos said, the facility can generate 20 to 40 megawatts of power per hour.

Santos said Cebu City alone can produce up to 700 tons of garbage every day. To produce 40 megawatts, ARN would need up to 1,000 tons of garbage a day. (JJL)