Iloilo City’s plastic wastes spawn livelihood
A number of indigents have found a source of livelihood from the mounting plastic wastes disposed at the Calajunan dumpsite in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City.
This development will be further enhanced during a Workshop for Informal Sector Integration and Alternative Fuels and Raw (AFR) materials at Calajunan to be conducted at Punta Villa Resort in Arevalo district on Dec. 11.
Representatives of waste reclaimers association, barangay officials of Calajunan, Iloilo City Solid Waste Management Board (ICSWMB), German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), Solid Waste Management for Local Government Units Project (SWM4LGUs), National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) will dig deeper on the prospects of plastic wastes.
The initiative is implemented under GTZ-SWM4LGUs project in partnership with Holcim Phils.
GTZ Team Leader Dr. Johannes Paul said they will discuss the outcomes of the pilot project 2008-2009 to recover Alternative Fuels and Raw (AFR) materials at Calajunan.
The City Government and Holcim will present the experiences and issues from the AFR recovery from the perspectives of involved stakeholders and to brainstorm on options, lessons learned and way forward to enhance the project.
“We consider waste-to-energy option as a key activity in the municipal solid waste management to further reduce waste disposal and to strengthen public-private partnerships by developing additional waste reduction options for LGUs,” Paul said in a statement.
“The material recovery likewise supports the cement industry in substituting fossil fuels and primary raw materials and hence significantly contributes to mitigate climate impacts due to waste disposal, resources loss and fossil fuel utilization,” he explained.
The workshop seeks to inform about the ongoing programs to integrate local wastepickers into the envisioned solid waste management enhancement programs.
“We will brainstorm on how to improve AFR recovery and to provide further livelihood options through material recovery and recycling for local waste reclaimers,” said Paul.
The City Government and Holcim earlier inked an agreement for the latter to collect the plastic garbage from Calajunan dumpsite to be used as fuel for its cement plants in the country. (Iloilo City PIO)
