The Pasig City government on Wednesday inaugurated a new refuse-derived fuel facility (RDF) which will supply alternative fuels to local cement plants including those of Lafarge.

The collaboration between the Pasig government with IPM Construction and Development Corp (IPM) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) can process 600tpd of waste.

The facility is majority-owned by Basic Environmental Systems & Technologies Inc and Lafarge Industrial Ecology International. IPM, meanwhile, will operate and manage the RDF Processing Facility.

The RDF plant runs by mechanically segregating waste and selecting waste with a high thermal value. These are shred, pelletised and wrapped into bales for use as alternative fuel in cement plants, particularly those of the Lafarge Group in the Philippines. It can convert 25-35 per cent of the processed waste into alternative fuel for cement kilns while the remaining organic waste are safely transferred to sanitary landfills.

“This is the largest RDF facility in the Philippines to date. We’re proud to be partners of Pasig City, MMDA and Lafarge in this pioneering endeavor to save the environment by reducing our dependence on fossil fuel,” said IPM president and MIC treasurer Isabelita P Mercado.