First e-waste materials recovery facility opened by DENR outside of NCR

DT | First e-waste materials recovery facility opened by DENR outside of NCR | BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) inaugurated the first electronic refuse materials recovery facility (MRF) outside the National Capital Region (NCR) on Monday in Barangay Bakakeng.

Analiza Teh, DENR Undersecretary for Sustainability and Climate Change, stated that the initiative was initially launched in Metro Manila in 2017 in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) prior to its expansion to Baguio. January 2024 will mark the conclusion of the project’s more than six-year operation.

“This is the third e-waste MRF, the first two being located in Caloocan City and Malabon City.” “This is the very first outside of Metro Manila,” Teh stated.

E-waste consists of discarded electrical or electronic devices, such as appliances, tools, entertainment, and communications equipment, among others.

“If there are no suitable tools or facilities, it will be hazardous to the health of the dismantlers, who are predominantly children and women. There is also soil contamination if they are not disposed of correctly,” Teh said on the sidelines of the memorandum of understanding signing with the city government and other stakeholders.

In an interview, Bakakeng Central barangay captain Dan Daniel stated that the barangay council examined and eventually approved the proposal to convert their MRF into an e-waste MRF, which stands on a 60 by 20 metre plot of land.

“We saw numerous advantages, so we seized the opportunity to convert our MRF into an e-waste MRF. We anticipate to see some residents engaging in this activity, training to dismantle their source of livelihood. This will also generate revenue for the barangay, which we can use for other programmes,” he said in Ilocano.

The appropriate management of e-waste, according to Teh, could help mitigate the effects of climate change and address water pollution.

“Daily, we generate at least 61 000 tonnes of mixed waste, of which only 20% is recycled.” The rest end up as marine litter, refuse in rivers and seas, or as mixed waste in sanitary landfills, despite the law stating that only residual waste is to be disposed of in sanitary landfills, she explained.

Melissa Vergel De Dios, chief sustainability officer of PLDT Inc. and SMART Communications Inc., stated in a message delivered during the programme that her company contributed to the initiative by establishing important e-waste collection points. (via PNA)