GOVPH

It’s 2025 and even with numerous attempts to clear up our plastic waste, it just keeps piling up. 

The Philippines remains as top waste generators in Southeast Asia with total solid waste generation of the country expected to reach 23.61M tons this year with most of these being plastic waste, according to the Climate Transparency Platform.

This is probably one of the reasons why we never stop to explore options such as educating about the 3Rs of waste management, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, as well as providing options and incentives to ‘refill and reuse’ soaps, laundry supplies, and even medications. 

These are just simple steps that we can do to help alleviate our problems in solid waste management.

But did you know that there is a technology that turns discarded plastics into valuable oil without the heavy environmental toll of traditional combustion? 

Meet pyrolysis technology. 

Pyrolysis is one of the technologies available to convert biomass to an intermediate liquid product that can be refined to drop-in hydrocarbon biofuels, oxygenated fuel additives, and petrochemical replacements, according to the Agricultural Research Service of United States of America’s Department of Agriculture. 

This is the technology employed in a Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-funded and one-of-a-kind plant which was inaugurated earlier this year in Naawan, Misamis Oriental (MisOr).

Photo opportunity during the Inauguration of the newly Fabricated Pyrolysis Plant of GPREC on 10 January 2025 at Naawan, Misamis Oriental. 

Providing an innovative and sustainable solution to the waste problem of MisOr, Green Planet Renewable Energy Corp. (GPREC) partnered with DOST-X to refurbish a pyrolysis plant makes possible the conversion of used tires and plastics to valuable industrial fuel oil.

Piles of used tires at Green Planet Renewable Energy Corp, awaiting processing through pyrolysis to be converted into reusable industrial oil complied to the Republic Act No. 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999.

This innovation provides an eco-friendly approach to waste management and aligns with DOST’s commitment to promoting a circular economy, ensuring that materials never become waste through keeping it in circulation via processes such as maintenance, reuse, refurbishment, re-manufacture, recycling, and composting, and nature is degenerated.

In an interview, GPREC Chief Operating Officer Fernando M. Sebial assured that their facility secured the necessary permits following the mandated processing regulations to assure no interposing objection of the project from the barangay all the way up to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Naawan, MisOr.

“Our technical explanation had convinced the two levels of authorities and the necessary clearance was secured. The same is a requisite of Environmental Management Bureau in the issuance of Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECC) and permit to operate (PTO). For about two years of waiting, EMB had granted the ECC and PTO sometime in 3 March 2016 with a stringent monitoring and reporting mechanisms,” he said.

Further, he said that a Pollution Control Officer and Safety Officer were deployed to ensure the proper management of environmental compliance. Additionally,a tripartite Monitoring Team was also created consisting the Barangay Council, MENRO- Naawan and MSU-Naawan.   

Story with SETUP

In 2024, GPREC received DOST-X's assistance through the Small Enterprise Technology Upgrading Program (SETUP) to upgrade major parts of the plant. 

Sebial said that knowing DOST’s flagship program SETUP is a divine fate or a blessing in disguise. 

“It all started when Newtech Pulp Inc. was negotiating with us to dispose of their waste plastics, sacks, and cellophane in our plant. Since Newtech is a PEZA-accredited plant, they secure clearance from PEZA and the latter requested us to submit the environmental technology verification and to call DOST Provincial Office in CDO about it. It all started just like that and on the process, it was known to us through our meeting with Engr. Ruel Vincent C. Banal about the SETUP program of DOST,” he said.

For those businesses aspiring to expand their operations through the help of SETUP, Sebial said that there is really a need to properly study and rationalize the economic viability of the project to ensure business success.

The plant's capacity was increased from three to five tons to improve its efficiency and production volume by 33.33% and 140%, respectively. The increase will allow the firm to cater to more manufacturing plants in need of cheaper alternative fuel for operations. 

The fuel oil produced through pyrolysis is suitable for generating heat and steam. It is a cheaper substitute for conventional fuels used in industrial boilers and furnaces.

Among the manufacturing plants benefitting from the fuel oil produced by the pyrolysis plant is the coconut oil mill in Davao, The Republic Cement of Kiwalan, asphalt batching plant covering Zamboanga Peninsula, and the boilers of sardine processing plant in Zamboanga City. 

Processing used tires and plastic waste into fuel oil is just the first phase of the company's operation. 

GPREC plans to expand as a garbage processor of all sorts of garbage other than used tires for interested local government units and the envisioned "Garbage to Power" facility in the locality. (By Rosemarie C. Señora, DOST-STII and with reports from DOST-X)