Naga City Mayor Valdemar Chiong signed an agreement with the officials of Apo Cement Corp and FDRCON Company Inc for the local government unit’s solid waste management program that recycles biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes that can be used as alternative fuel for industrial production.

The agreement aimed to strengthen Naga’s quest for zero waste status in compliance with Republic Act 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Law. The program took off with the completion last year of materials recovery facility (MRF),  put together in cooperation with FDRCON, a construction firm in Talisay City, Cebu. The MRF listed APO Cement in barangay Tinaan, Naga as its principal client, supplying the cement plant with about 10 tons of non-biodegradable materials per day used to fire its kilns. The remaining biodegradable waste, representing about 70 percent of the MRF’s output, will end up in compost pits or as organic fertilizers.

Cemex Philippines, which owns the Apo Cement, hailed the alliance as a “major breakthrough toward institutionalising zero waste.” “This project may yet establish Cebu’s oldest town as a model in efficient waste management for all local government units across the country to emulate,” CEMEX Philippines president Pedro Palomino said.  The project also generated employment for the local folk who were hired as waste pickers or separators.