Press Release - Tulfo inspects engineered sanitary landfill in Tarlac, pushes WTE facility

Senator Idol Raffy Tulfo today (Jan. 12) conducted an ocular visit to the first-ever "engineered sanitary landfill" and the country's largest waste management facility run by Metro Clark Waste Management Corporation (MCWMC) in Tarlac.

Tulfo, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Energy, was welcomed by MCWMC Founding Director and Chairman of the Board Holger Holz and Chairman of the Management Committee Rufo Colayco, along with other board of directors, during the visit.

Tulfo lauded the MCWMC management especially upon learning that it receives an estimated 5,000 tons of garbage per day from Central Luzon and different provinces like Pampanga, Zambales and Bataan or over 1,000,000 tons per year. This is on top of industrial wastes processed from Central Luzon, Cavite and Batangas.

The 100-hectare engineered sanitary landfill was built in 2002 by virtue of service contracting in partnership with the Clark Development Corporation (CDC). Eyed to become a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility, MCWMC is the only facility that is compliant to RA 9003 or Solid Waste Management Act.

During the visit, Tulfo also discussed his Waste to Energy bill with top executive members who expressed full support for his measure.

They also discussed the importance of a WTE facility to help extend the lifespan of their landfill by at least 30 years. Without it, MCWMC officials said, they and other landfill operators will be forced to expand their waste management facility and utilize precious land which otherwise should be used for agricultural/commercial purposes to accomodate growing waste generation in the Philippines.

Tulfo told company officials that some sectors are concerned that there may not be enough feedstock or waste to fuel future WTE facilities.

Colayco assured the senator that these concerns are unfounded since the amount of waste continues to increase as the population grows.

The Senator from Isabela and Davao stressed that observations from the said visit will help him and his legislative team in promoting his WTE bill to fellow lawmakers to ensure its swift passage into law.

Meanwhile, Tulfo is set to visit a WTE facility in Singapore along with his legislative team next