THE construction of the much-awaited Waste to Energy facility in Dagupan City is expected to start soon after the Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Dagupan City government and the company that will build and operate the project, SURE Global Waste to Worth Innovations (W2WI) was signed on August 10 at CSI Stadia.

Mayor Belen Fernandez signed the agreement with Jill Boughton, president and chief executive officer of SURE Global W2WI, in simple ceremony attended by the city councilors, barangay chairmen and heads of people’s organizations.

The project is a state of the art facility costing US$ 11 million that will convert solid wastes into diesel fuel for jeepneys and motorboats as well as methane gas for cooking and for lighting homes.

While SURE Global will build the facility at no cost to the city government, the latter will provide the two-hectare land in Bonuan Binloc segregated by a presidential proclamation, as the site with the commitment to deliver 30 tons of solid wastes daily.

Dagupan is the third LGU after Angeles City and Cabuyao, Laguna to have the project.

Boughton pointed out, however, that the Dagupan facility is different from the projects in Angeles City and Cabuyao since it is capable of producing both diesel and methane gas.

He said the facility that will be put up can take 30 tons of garbage daily, from which it can produce 4,000 liters of diesel from plastics and 4,000 kilograms of natural gas from green and food wastes.

At the same time, Boughton assured that the facility will not cause any harm to the environment and will comply with all the rules and regulations issued by the National Solid Waste Management Commission for all companies engaged in converting garbage into fuel.

“We will be very strict in all the environmental controls that we must adhere to. We will not create another problem after solving one problem” she added.

Fernandez zealously worked for this project since she started her term in 2013 but had to travel to Chile and had to speak in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and the United Nations in order to get it.

“The signing of JVA marks the culmination of all the hard work, extensive research, and dedication of all the parties involved in the Waste to Worth project,” said Shankar Viswanathan, general manager of Procter & Gamble Philippines, the company that initiated the project more than four years ago.

The signing of the document was witnessed by City Legal Officer Victoria Cabrera and Paul Puthenpurekul, director of SURE Global Waste to Worth Philippines Inc.

Fernandez said that once the facility is already operational, the city will eventually do away with its open dumpsite and convert the place as a tree park.

In preparing for the city’s role in delivering 30 tons of garbage daily, the city has ordered 10 brand new dump trucks, three of which already arrived, to be used for garbage collection. (Leonardo Micua)

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