LAOAC—The town of Laoac may yet be the second local government unit in Pangasinan to benefit from the new technology that would covert wastes into energy.

Laoac Mayor Silverio Alarcio Jr., said the project, proposed by the Rublu Group of Companies, a consortium of Filipino, Indian, South Korean and Chinese businessmen, is set for groundbreaking this month.

Alarcio said the project is similar to Dagupan’s “Waste-to-Energy” project that will process wastes into diesel fuel, but Loaoc’s waste will be converted into power that can energize homes as well as factories.

He said the project, now being evaluated by the regional office of the Department of Environment and Natural (DENR), is an incineration-type project that will burn domestic wastes in a boiler to produce steam that will turn turbines to produce electric energy.

Officials of Rublu offered the technology being used in advanced countries like South Korea, Singapore and Japan.

Laoac’s dumpsite was closed a few years ago by DENR.

Rublu company already brought Alarcio and other town officials to South Korea where they had an ocular inspection of the Waste to Energy project and briefed on its operational systems.

When told that the project may suffer a rough sailing in the DENR which is opposed to incineration, Mayor Alarcio asked: “Why are advanced countries still using this technology if it really is destructive to the environment?

“If South Korea, Singapore and Japan are now using this technology, why can’t we use the same in our country in order to get rid of our own wastes where at present we have ran out of place to safely dispose these?” he asked.

Explaining the process, he said, heat from the burnt garbage will turn the water in the boiler into steam in order to turn the turbines, and after the burning process, the ashes can be used as landfill. for low-lying areas in the town.

Alarcio believes that the coal plants, which abound in the country are more hazardous than this technology.

“Incineration is banned in the Clean Air Act but if you incinerate for the purpose of creating a useful energy such as electricity, this may be allowed, he added, saying that burning wastes up to 2,000 degrees centigrade will already get rid of  many toxic substances. (Leonardo Micua)

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