The City of Baguio has had for many years a problem with solid waste disposal. Baguio produces around 402 tons of garbage daily. The city has been hauling city garbage to the nearest sanitary landfill in Capas, Tarlac which had been the temporary solution for over a decade now. Hauling the city's residual waste has been eating a huge portion of the city's resources for the hauling cost and tipping fees.

The local government has proposed the development of a waste to energy plant, which will use biodegradable waste generated by the city's households to produce renewable electricity. The plant will be developed by the local government of Baguio in collaboration with the state-owned Philippine National Oil Company–Renewables Corporation (PNOC-RC). The city has currently commissioned a Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS), to determine the size of the plant and the volume of waste that will be treated. The aim is to build a plant that will tailor-fit the volume of biodegradable waste produced by the households and commercial establishments in the city. The power produced by the plant will be sold to the Benguet electric Cooperative (BENECO), who will then use it as part of their power supply to the city. The plant is expected to be capable of producing 3.4 MW of renewable energy.

The development of the waste to energy plant will help the city towards a permanent solution to its solid waste disposal problem. It will also help the local government save in costs due to the garbage hauling and it will also manage to earn income from selling the renewable energy generated to the local power company. The project will also upgrade the local area and be of benefit to the communities living there.

Photo from FlorentMartin_ on Flickr.