Metro Clark Waste Management expands landfill’s capacity, larger engineered landfills needed

Metro Clark Waste Management expands its landfill capacity, a total of seven hectares was developed to accommodate the continued demand for clients’ waste disposal needs. However, MCWM says larger engineered landfills are needed to address Philippines's growing waste crisis.

Leading waste management firm, Metro Clark Waste Management (MCWM), recently completed a major expansion project at its landfill facility in Kalangitan, Clark, Pampanga. The country’s first engineered sanitary landfill was expanded to fulfill MCWM’s mission to provide world-class waste disposal services to more cities, municipalities, and industrial clients in Central Luzon. The company pointed out that all projections by both local and foreign experts show that the volume of Philippine waste will continue to increase, and already exceeds the total capacity of existing landfills in the country.

The Philippines currently ranks as the top contributor to plastic pollution in the oceans, putting the country among the five largest producers of plastic waste worldwide, as indicated by a global study recently released by the Stockholm Resilience Center. Out of the 1,656 rivers studied, the Pasig River was also identified as the worst source of plastic waste, contributing 63,000 metric tons of the more than 356,000 metric tons of plastic pollution produced by the Philippines each year. Plastic waste produced continues to increase at a phenomenal rate, doubling in just over 20 years to 367 million metric tons annually as of 2020.

Executive Vice President and General Manager of MCWM, Vicky Gaetos says, “It is our job to monitor these studies and projections, and proactively plan accordingly. The yearly increase in solid waste in the Philippines, while sobering, was expected. While recycling and other trash reduction measures do help and must be done, there’s just so much waste that the only solution is to expand. We made the decision to invest in this expansion even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic because this is in the best interests of our clients, and ultimately, of the communities we serve.”

The expansion covered the development of seven more hectares within MCWM’s 100-hectare grounds, to be used for municipal waste disposal, the addition of leachate treatment plants for the proper eradication of waste by-products, and a new separate disposal cell for treated industrial waste. The company also acquired new vehicles, equipment, and other fixed facilities to increase operational efficiency.

Currently servicing almost 150 LGUs in Central Luzon, and thousands of industrial and commercial locators in the two main economic zones of Clark and Subic, MCWM’s expansion will allow it to dispose of its clients’ waste to the same international standard, and according to global best practices that it has followed for over twenty years.

Gaetos added: “Despite continuing challenges, MCWM is proud to be of service to our clients and their communities. We also hope to widen our coverage as more LGUs and industry players look for waste management solutions that are cost-effective, efficient, and strictly compliant with RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. We are keen to continue working closely with the DENR, CDC, BCDA, and all other stakeholders to more effectively wage the war against waste.”

MCWM has shown its dedication to responsibly address the waste management crisis as the company is the only sanitary landfill that has consistently secured ISO certifications since 2015 to ensure the safety of the environment they operate in, the health and welfare of their employees, and the satisfaction of their stakeholders.