PLANT INSPECTION REPORT:

PAYATAS POWER PLANT

(QUEZON CITY)

PAYATAS POWER PLANT

PAYATAS, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES

Quezon City, being the biggest city in Metro Manila, is generating 1,979 tons of
garbage per day. Of this, about 1,200 tons per day are disposed at the QC Sanitary
Landfill (SLF) in Payatas, which is set to be closed end of this year due to expiration of
its license to operate from the DENR.
With the scheduled closure of the SLF, the city government is looking into a more
advanced and long term technology that will address the problem of waste management
rather than rely on old systems such as the SLF, which would eventually become
obsolete because of its adverse environmental impact.
In the meantime, the SLF could still accommodate the wastes of Quezon City
until the expiration of its license. However, the city government was able to put up a 400
ton capacity Refused Derived Fuel (RDF) pilot plant also in Payatas to help ease the
accumulation of the city's garbage.
Aside from the RDF, the city government is entertaining various proposals which
are long-term and sustainable for QC's wastes. One of these would be the construction
of a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility project. In line with this, the QC-LGU intends to

have a possible joint venture with some companies involved in this kind of technology
and is currently negotiating with them.
The investment for the said project is around Php 8 to 10 billion and about 10
hectares of land are needed to construct the said facility. The condition of the land
should be free from flooding because the pit of the proposed facility is very critical and
there must be room for maneuverability of trucks. The probable timetable for the
development of this waste-to-energy project would take about two to three years to
complete.
Waste-to-energy is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity
and/or heat from the combustion of organic materials. With the use of the WTE method,
it will help clean the city by providing good method for solid waste disposal with 90%
reduction of trash volume. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by
open dumps and landfills.
What is also good about the project is that it will enable the QC-LGU to own a
power plant which can be a of power generation source to help the city subsidize its
electrical expenses, and it will be a pioneering venture in the Philippines.

HISTORY OF THE PAYATAS OPEN DUMPSITE

The name Payatas was derived from Payat sa Taas meaning the land os not
fertile in the upland. Most of the land owners converted their lands from agricultural to
residential. Since the land is low lying and ravenous, the owners allow the dumping of
waste.
Dumping in Payatas started in 1970s and become the main disposal site for
Metro Manila Waste in 1993. A distinguishing feature of Payatas is the Payatas
Dumpsite, a 13 hectare garbage dumpsite in Area B. In the 1970s, the area was merely
a ravine that was surrounded by farming villages and rice paddies. Now, Payatas
houses a 50-acre landfill which earns it the name "second Smokey Mountain".
Intially, the Payatas Open Dumpsite served as a disposal area wherein the solid
wastes are indiscriminately thrown or disposed of without due planning and
consideration for environmental and health standards. But this was immediately
addressed by the City Government through the organization of the Payatas Operation
Group (POG).
Payatas Landslide:

A landslide of junk on July 10, 2000, killed 218 people living on the dumpsite and
caused 300 missing persons, though many first hand accounts note that the number is
far greater and much closer to 1,000.
Payatas dumpsite is still the largest open dumpsite in the Philippines and was
reopened only months after the 2000 disaster at the request of scavengers and other
residents of the area who depend on it for their livelihood. There has been some good
progress at the dumpsite since the landslide of 2000, as the dumpsite has been
resloped to a 40 degree angle from its original 70 degree angle while children under the
age of 14 have been banned from the dumpsite and methane extractors remove the
methane and convert it into electricity, preventing the spontaneous fires which used to
characterise it.

QUEZON CITY SANITARY LANDFILL

This Sanitary Landfill serves as a disposal site for residual waste. Environmental
measures, practices and technologies were implemented at the QC Integrated Waste
Disposal Facility in order to protect the environment and to ensure the safety of the
dumpsite and the communities surrounding it.
FEATURES OF THE SANITARY LANDFILL

3.4 Hectare Initial Area Expandable

Category IV type of Landfill
Double line system
Geo-clay synthetic liner
HDPE liner
Leachate collection and treatment
Gas recovery system
Accepts only household waste and commercial waste
Approved Environmental Compliance Certificate
Compatible with the Quezon City Solid Waste Management Plan

PANGEA GREEN ENERGY PHILIPPINES

BIOGAS EMISSION REDUCTION PROJECT
PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

PRODUCTS, MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES

PROJECT BENEFITS

Contributes to greenhouse house reduction by methane capture that

would have otherwise escaped to the atmosphere from the natural

decomposition of municipal waste.

Supply of free electricity to the perimeter lights of dumpsite periphery and
other facilities.

CLIMATE CHANGE BENEFITS

100,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent avoided per year (equivalent

emission of 18,000 cars)

1,600 MWh per year of electricity available for Payatas area (equivalent
consumption of 40,000 houses per year)

AVERAGE DAILY VOLUME OF BIOGAS EXTRACTED IN CU.M. / HR

Main Line 958 cu.m / hr

Flare Line 141 cu.m / hr
Engine Line 424 cu.m / hr

POST CLOSURE CARE AND MAINTENANCE

Post Closure Care and Maintenance is the term used to describe what will
happen to a completed disposal site in the future and to make necesssary
corrective action in order to minimize the threat to human health and
environment.
This includes the following:

Slope stability monitoring

Slope re-profiling
Soil covering and compaction
Storm drainage maintenance
Leachate collection monitoring
Leachate recirculation operation
Maintenance of leachate collection pipes
Capping and greening
Planting of vetiver grass
Landscaping and phytoremediation
Tree planting
Land use development
Development of an ECO-Park

Status of the Post Closure and Maintenance of Closed Dumpsite:

14,400 cu.m. of soil were used to complete the soil covering of the

Closed Dumpsite.
80,000 vetiver grasses were planted that covers 5,000 sq.m. of

dumpsite slopes.
1,750 different varities of trees were planted along the slopes as

part of our Greening Programs.

3,200 cu.m. of soil and 4,800 cu.m. of bluerock were spread to

maintain the access roads.

42 meters of reinforced concrete pipe were installed to maintain the

drainage system.
30 linear meters of gabion were installed to reinforce the
embankment of the waterways.