DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, March 28 (PIA) -- The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lauded Dumaguete City for being the first city with a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) in the Philippines. 

Engr. William Cuñado, director of DENR-EMB, said the city’s MRF is also generating income at P500 per month for properly managing the garbage, while providing livelihood for the waste pickers through proper and sustainable solid waste management.

Cuñado said the eight-hectare location of Dumaguete MRF may be an ideal place to set up a National Ecology Center (NEC) of DENR.

He said the DENR plans to establish a NEC to serve as a training hub for solid waste management in conjunction with the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC).

Cuñado, together with DENR-7 Regional Executive Director Engr. Paquito Melicor Jr., and Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo formally inaugurated the central Materials Recovery Facility that is capable of treating and converting garbage into useful by-products.

“I would like to ask our DENR Secretary Jim Sampulan to give a commendation to Mayor Remollo and the City Council for a job well done, and not only that, I would also like to recommend this place as part of the National Ecological Center to train the waste sorters how to improve their skills,” said Cuñado.

The MRF is part of the Eco-Park Solid Waste Processing Facility, which is also a recipient of the plastic to chair recycling equipment, glass pulverizer, bio-shredder, and bio-composters from DENR.

For his part, Melicor said he is inspired by how Dumaguete City was able to close the dumpsite on March 30, 2021, and in so short a time was able to establish a unique MRF that not only segregates the collected garbage but also provides treatment so that these solid waste will not be filthy, infectious, and carrier of bacteria before proper disposal.

The MRF with Pyrolisis Machine has been operating for a year before the inauguration on March 23 in Brgy. Candau-ay, this city. (JCT/PIA7 Negros Oriental)