COMMITTED to industrialize the waste management system in the country, Prime Infra and its subsidiary Prime Integrated Waste Solutions Inc. (PWS) inaugurated its large-scale, automated materials recovery facility in Porac, Pampanga on Wednesday.

Present during the launching of the facility and the ceremonial unveiling of the marker were Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda, Porac Mayor Jaime Capil, Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. and Prime Infra president and CEO Guillaume Lucci, among others.

In her message, Loyzaga lauded the PWS for the utilization of the state-of-the-art equipment for waste segregation and storage.

"It is truly inspiring to witness how Prime Infra companies as well as the government — national and local — have come together to build a healthier, safer, and cleaner environment for all of us," Loyzaga said.

"As you know, the Philippines generates about 61,000 metric tons of waste daily ... with 33 percent ending up in landfills, while 35 percent is leaked into the open environment. I would like to say that the company's utilization of this state-of-the-art equipment transforms the strategy for resource recovery and also links it to our fuel transition."

She said the DENR is looking forward to seeing more facilities like this in other areas in the future.

"We're here to support each and every local government unit in their journey towards a climate-resilient and environmentally safe future," she added.

Lucci, meanwhile, said Prime Infra aims to industrialize the waste business in the Philippines through PWS.

"This expansion in Luzon, starting in Pampanga — and we want to thank again the host province and host municipalities for this — really demonstrates our commitment to industrialize this market which is the natural next step for waste management in the country," Lucci said.

The Pampanga materials recovery facility is the first greenfield development of PWS, and the company's second operational facility next to Cebu City.

PWS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Prime Infra, was established in response to the increasing demand for proper waste management and resource recovery solutions in industrialized and fast-growing cities in the Philippines.

Its business model is based on Prime Infra's overall objective of converting recovered resources into sustainable fuel.

"We plan to invest in a waste-to-fuel facility here that will convert the waste into fuel for ships, airplanes, trucks, and so on and so forth. This is an integral part of Prime Infra's sustainability initiatives," Lucci said.

PWS uses state-of-the-art equipment procured from Europe and Asia such as vibrating sieves, baler systems, magnetic separators and air density separator to maximize resource recovery.

The Pampanga facility can accommodate up to 5,000 tons of solid waste per day coming from Central Luzon, Northern Luzon and National Capital Region.

Meanwhile, Pineda said that the facility will be a big help to the provincial government in the management of its solid waste amid the impending closure of the Kalangitan sanitary landfill in October.

The contract of Metro Clark Waste Management Corp. (MCWMC) for the Kalangitan sanitary landfill facilities in Capas, Tarlac will expire in October and the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) said it has no plans of extending the agreement.

Pursuant to the legal opinion of the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, BCDA's statutory counsel, extending the contract between Clark Development Corp. and MCWMC beyond October 2024 would be against the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, the framework used in bidding and awarding the contract for the project.

The BCDA also said that a sanitary landfill is no longer consistent with the government's vision of transforming New Clark City into a premier investment and tourism destination.

Aside from the automated materials recovery facility in Porac, there are two other existing facilities in the province that may be utilized when the Kalangitan sanitary landfill closes.

The two facilities have a combined total capacity of 3,500 metric tons of domestic waste per day, and a potential to expand to 6,000 MT. Add this to the 5,000 MT capacity of the Porac facility and this is more than enough to address the solid waste management requirements of Tarlac, Pampanga, and other nearby provinces.

This should also allay fears of a looming garbage and health crisis in the region.