MMDA produces over 110K ecobricks from garbage
More than 110,000 ecobricks, 368 concrete barriers and 17,271 hollow blocks have been produced by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) from the trash collected at the Vitas Pumping Station from April 2021 to June this year, the agency said on Saturday.
In a post on Facebook, the MMDA said it has been processing waste and creating byproducts at its Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWF) at the Vitas Pumping Station in Tondo, Manila.
“In this facility, the collected plastic and biowaste from our waterways that travel to the pumping stations are cleaned, processed and mixed to create bricks, eco-hollow blocks and eco-concrete barriers,” the MMDA said.
According to the agency, the waste is segregated through a solid waste granulator and made into byproducts by a brick making facility before being distributed to local government units, barangays, and other beneficiaries.
The MMDA said the ISWF is part of the first phase of the Metro Manila Flood Management Project (MMFMP) which seeks to improve flood control in select areas of Metro Manila.
The project was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority in 2012 and is being implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways and the MMDA with financial and technical support from the World Bank.
Innovative technologies
In an earlier statement, the MMDA said that under the MMFMP, various facilities and innovative technologies were installed along waterways and pumping stations to ensure that waste would be collected, transported and processed or disposed of efficiently.
Aside from ecobricks and concrete barriers, the MMDA also previously showcased lily pots and charcoal briquettes made from dried water hyacinths that were processed in a facility at the Tapayan Pumping Station in Taytay, Rizal.
As of February, the MMDA said it has produced 4,506 charcoal briquettes and 226 lily pots from 19,881 kilos of water hyacinths.
Cleanup, declogging
In another Facebook post, the agency said it has also been conducting cleanup operations and declogging drainages across Metro Manila to prevent flooding.
Earlier this month, the MMDA launched the Bayanihan sa Estero program to strengthen efforts in the cleanup and maintenance of drainage infrastructure, noting that many waterways have become heavily silted and clogged with solid waste.
MMDA Chair Don Artes earlier cited the large amount of garbage and outdated drainage system as among the causes of flooding in Metro Manila.
The agency said under the said program, it had identified 23 priority esteros for immediate intervention, 12 of which have already been cleaned up, with a total of 881 cubic meters of garbage removed.
