Plastic recycling plant sought for Inayawan

An intermediate treatment facility to recycle plastic waste is needed to solve the mounting garbage volume at the Inayawan Sanitary landfill.

This was the finding of the two pilot surveys funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) that was endorsed by the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) to Councilor Nida Cabrera.

“I hope she will act favorably on this. It already has a legal opinion from the City Legal Office. I’d like to emphasize that these projects are done at no cost to the city,” SWMB presiding officer Jade Ponce said.

The pilot surveys showed that a plastics waste treatment facility will reduce the amount of landfill waste and stimulate the recycling process as well as create jobs for scavengers.

The results of a feasibility study done by Mansei Recycle Systems last December 2012 to February 2013 attributed increased waste generation to Cebu City’s population growth.

Despite attempts to build a new landfill, the study showed lack of progress due to conflict with the local community.

It also said plastic waste has not been efficiently recycled.

The two studies proposed that the waste treatment facility be set up at the motor pool of the Inayawan Sanitary Landfill.

The facility is able to process 50 tons of plastic waste a day and produce five tons of recycled plastic that can be sold at P1,000 to P1,500 per ton.

Ponce said JICA will sponsor and supervise implementation of the facility that will cost US $300,000.

Ownership of the facility will be transferred to Cebu City at the project’s completion in August 2015.

Cebu City will receive sales revenue from the plastic fuel while staff of the Cebu City Hall’s Department of Public Services (DPS) will be trained both on-site and in Japan.

Ponce said the City Legal Office found “no legal impediment for Mayor Michael Rama to proceed with the signing of the minutes for the two project proposals.”

Cabrera, who chairs the council’s committee on environment, endorsed the proposals to the City Council’s Secretariat for inclusion in tomorrow’s council agenda.

Cabrera earlier asked Rama to speed up the closure plan of the landfill, which has an unspent P1.2 million budget.

“This (JICA project) is just part of the plan. They have to meet all the requirements of the proposed closure and rehabilitation plan which I made,” she said. /Jose Santino Bunachita, Correspondent