P120M TO EXPAND WASTE TREATMENT SERVICES
PASSI, which treats hospital wastes in Cebu, is expanding to Iloilo, where it has secured a joint venture with the local government to treat health care waste and septage; it’s also headed for Bacolod and Davao City.
A group of mechanical engineers and local business owners primarily engaged in the business of hospital waste management has secured P120 million from the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) for its expansion plans in the country’s key cities.
Pollution Abatement Systems Specialists Inc. (PASSI) Chief Executive Officer Julito Pogoy said the expansion will be in Iloilo City, Bacolod City, and Davao City, but that the group will also upgrade its existing facility in Inayawan, Pardo in Cebu City.
“There is so much demand in the Philippines for hospital waste treatment facilities,” said Pogoy, who pointed to the increasing number of hospitals in the country, as well as the importance of treating hospital wastes.
Hospital wastes, if not treated, contains potentially harmful microorganisms that can infect hospital patients, health workers, and the general public.
According to the World Health Organization ( WHO), while 85 percent of the total waste generated by health care activities is non-hazardous, the remaining 15 percent is considered hazardous material and can be infectious, toxic or radioactive.
In Cebu, PASSI serves 288 medical institutions, including hospitals, laboratories, as well as funeral parlors, or a market share of 98 percent in the whole province.
The expansion in Iloilo City is a joint venture with the local government, where it currently offers health care waste treatment, and is slated to include septage treatment in the next five months.
Meanwhile, the Bacolod facility will be for hospital waste treatment; and the newest expansion will be in Davao City, where the company has purchased a two-hectare property adjacent to the city’s landfill site.
Pogoy said the company has already secured an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for its Davao operations.
At present, the company also has a plant in Sta. Lourdes in Puerto Princesa, Palawan.
Aside from health care waste and septage treatment, PASSI is also engaged in hazardous waste collection and transporting, environment management systems, pollution control systems and solid/liquid/gaseous management services, materials recovery facilities, and black soil production. Founded in November 2003 by a group of mechanical engineers, PASSI has pioneered the use of autoclave technology in treating Cebu’s health care waste.
Asian Development Bank