TARLAC. Michael Siebeneiger, vice president for Operations of Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation shows the leaching process of garbage producing clean water, during Friday’s media tour at the first and only world class engineered sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac. (Chris Navarro)
TARLAC. Michael Siebeneiger, vice president for Operations of Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation shows the leaching process of garbage producing clean water, during Friday’s media tour at the first and only world class engineered sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac. (Chris Navarro)

Metro Clark Sanitary Landfill gears up for New Clark City

CAPAS, Tarlac -- In anticipation of the massive development of the New Clark City (NCC), the country’s first high technology landfill goes full steam as it sets its sight on catering to a larger market outside starting next year.

Rufo Colayco, president and CEO of the Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation (MCWMC), said he is glad that their company is part of the NCC.

“We are preparing for the increase of human and economic activities at the NCC,” said Colayco.

Colayco said the MCWMC, the Philippines’ first high technology sanitary landfill, goes full steam as it sets its sights on catering to a larger market starting early next year.

He and Holger Holst, MCWMC technical director, toured journalists at its main landfill facilities in Sitio, Kalangitan, Capas, Tarlac on Friday.

Armed with world class German technology, the Tarlac-based sanitary landfill is the only such ISO-certified facility in the country.

In operation since 2002, Metro Clark currently handles 3,000 tons of waste per day, servicing more than 100 local government units in Central Luzon including the Clark and Subic Freeports, two of the country’s major economic zones, based in Pampanga and Zambales respectively.

Its biggest customers include the cities of Cabanatuan in Nueva Ecija, Angeles in Pampanga and Tarlac City in Tarlac province.

“We are currently catering to a few LGU’s in Northern Luzon including Pangasinan, La Union and the city of Baguio,” Colayco said. “We also see positive developments and opportunities for us to cater to the landfill requirements and disposal services of Bulacan and Metro Manila.”

Of the 100 hectares occupied by the Kalangitan facility, 70 hectares are dedicated for the landfill itself, 10 hectares for recycling facilities, and 15 hectares for environmental buffer. A further 5 more hectares is dedicated to offices and other uses. The landfill utilizes cutting edge technology and advanced engineering from Germany — a world leader in responsible waste management — to control and totally mitigate contamination of the environment from possible pollutants such as poisonous gas and foul smelling liquids produced by decaying waste.

“Unlike any other landfill sites, the waste being delivered to Metro Clark’s main facility is properly treated and disposed of, guaranteeing the safety and protection of the environment”, said Holst.

Colayco said meanwhile that the company is set to build the facilities for renewable energy generation out of collected garbage next year.

“Garbage is a by-product of economic prosperity. As the Philippines’ economy improves, we will only continue to produce more and more garbage. Where will all this be dumped?” said Colayco.

“By using this waste as fuel for a waste-to-energy plant, we would reduce by 70 percent the volume of garbage that will need to be disposed at our facility. And by extending the lifespan of our landfill by at least 50 years, we ensure that our company will be ready to accommodate the projected volume of garbage to be generated by cities and municipalities in the Central and Northern Luzon regions” Colayco added.

Colayco’s vision is to develop an integrated waste management system, which means that Metro Clark would transition from merely running a sanitary landfill to becoming a high technology recycling and renewable energy generation operation.

Together with its technology partners, the company will invest in developing an advanced centralized recycling and materials recovery facility where collected garbage will be segregated for recycling and processing into secondary fuel.

The secondary fuel will then be used as the primary feed stock for a secondary fuel CHP which will generate up to 35 megawatts of electrical energy for the New Clark City. “More than ever before, we are now very aware of the harm that we can do our environment by not properly disposing of our garbage. And what harms our environment, comes back to harm us, and our children,” warned Colayco.

He said that transforming waste to usable energy is key to fulfilling Metro Clark’s mission of guaranteeing a safe, sustainable and long-term waste management solution for Central Luzon for generations to come. -30- MCWMC is a joint venture of Filipino and German investors (BN Ingenuire GmbH and Heers & Brockstedeth Umwelttechnik GmbH), that operates one of the highly technical waste disposal facilities in Asia on a 100 hectare site at Sitio Kalangitan in Barangay Cutcut 2nd in Capas, Tarlac which is a part of Sub Zone D of Clark Economic zone.

MCWMC’s main facility is built based on internationally accepted standards which substantially exceed the Philippines’ sanitary landfill standards as stipulated under Republic 9003 or Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000.

Currently, the company has already invested hundreds of millions to put up the facility including critical infrastructure projects such as roads leading to and from the main facilities etc. and plans to invest more in its waste to energy component.

The landfill integrates cutting edge technology and highly-advanced engineering to control the poisonous gas and foul smelling liquid produced by decaying wastes. The wastes delivered and disposed to the site undergo a meticulous process to guarantee safety and protection to the environment.

MCWMC’s German partners have over 30 years’ experience in local solid waste management business and have installed worldwide more than 2,500 MWel in renewable energies (wind, waste, solar). It has gained 60 years international experience in waste management. (Chris Navarro)

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