The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will put up its second treatment storage disposal (TSD) facility for electronic wastes, which is located in Dampalit, Malabon City.
This is part of the Philippine government's commitment to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) to control these health and environment-hazard materials.
The TSD facility in Malabon will be supplementing the handling of electronic wastes, which is now being done in a separate facility in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City.
The two facilities are the only Materials Recovery Facility upgraded to TSD facilities in the Philippines that have the capability and permit to treat e-waste.
E-wastes are the waste from electric and electronic equipment (WEEE), such as used computers, television (TV) sets, refrigerators, cell phones. WEEE is found to contain toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium.
Also included in the waste group are persistent organic pollutants (POP) flame retardants like polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) found in plastic casings.
The DENR and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) held last June 29 a ceremonial signing for the upgrading of the existing MRF to a TSD facility in Malabon City.
The agreement was signed with United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Local Government Unit (LGU) of Malabon, the Integrated Recycling Industries Inc. (IRI), a Laguna-based company specializing in the reclamation and recycling of useful materials from WEEE, EcoWaste Coalition, and Globe Telecom, Inc.
UNIDO is the implementing agency of the project entitled “Implementation of PCB Management Programs for Electric Cooperatives and Safe e-wastes Management” funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
For its part, Globe Telecom Inc. will provide co-financing for the operations of the MRF/TSD facility, while the ollected e-wastes are transferred for proper dismantling and recycling at IRI’s Laguna facility.
The UNIDO-supported project targets to collect at least 50,000 cathode ray tubes (CRTs) (which generate POP polybrominated diphenyl ethers) from televisions or computers.