THIS column was unable to attend last Sunday’s briefing forum titled “Emerging Technologies on Waste Management and its Associated Risks.” Which, if I may again say, should read “Emerging Technologies on Waste Management and their Associated Risks.”
There are a number of us who are trying to find a video of the forum, so we may still catch up with what went on. So if you are reading this and know of such a video, kindly, kindly PM me on FB so we might arrange for a copy to be viewed by those of us who were unable to make it last Sunday.
Let us thus wait and ascertain the facts of that event, of which there is sadly nothing in the news.
In the meantime, an announcement has been made on the City Government of Baguio’s official website that as per new Baguio Mayor Magalong, “the State-owned Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) will be bringing to the city a waste-to-energy demo unit to pilot test its operation.”
The release by Dexter See further states that “the waste-to-energy demo unit will be brought in to the city by PNOC, together with Japanese waste-to-energy experts, and install the same within a 1-hectare area near the waste transfer station for pilot testing purposes as it was the waste-to-energy facility that was seen and preferred by President Rodrigo R. Duterte when he visited Japan two months ago.”
To which we can only say that it’s way past time to pilot test a WTE facility in Baguio.
Such a unit was already proposed to Baguio as far back as 1996-7, when former Mayor Domogan was on his first nine years as mayor. The proposal was received from Brind International, a UK-based engineering firm, which included in its proposal that the WTE facility be built at no cost to the city, which would also receive a share of the electricity produced, a new fleet of modern garbage trucks, and a slew of other items.
Our good then (then good?) mayor affixed his signature to a contract between our fair city of Baguio and Brind International. The contract was ratified by the then city council, the same council that later rescinded it. Oh, must you ask why.
Part of the discussions even had Brind and Baguio agreeing that the Irisan dumpsite be cleared by feeding its trash mountain into the facility. Among other things.
The other reason the deal wouldn’t fly two decades ago was that Brind required a buyer of the electricity to be part of the contract, and the only possible buyer then was Beneco. Beneco would not get on board. Hence an impasse then.
Much has changed and electricity can now be sold in all manner of ways.
Among other things...