Baling municipal waste as an alternative to landfill is very costly as the needed compacting machine is very expensive, but the investment can be recovered as the vacuum packed energy blocks can be sold to power producers.

At a workshop on the Orkel brand of baling machines conducted by the Norwegian compacting company and the Royal Norwegian Embassy Manila, the technology’s price range of 200,000 to 450,000 euros or P13.75 million to P31 million per unit was revealed.

Baling one ton of municipal waste costs 3 euros, including the amortization of the machine, the consumable film wrap, and pay for three operators, according to Joanne Lee, vice president of sales and marketing of Orkel Asia based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

One ton of the energy block can produce 413 kilowatt-hours of power, Lee added.

“They can sell the bale to the power plant at 20 or 30 euros, for example, and then the power plant can use this to generate 413 kilowatt-hours,” Lee explained.

At the workshop held last 15 January at Seda hotel, a video was presented showing the operation of an Orkel client, Revival Environmental Industry Co. Ltd. (REIC) of Taiwan.

Lee said REIC bales 70,000 tons of waste per year and the refuse-derived fuel is supplied to incineration plants.

Aside from the return on investment and generation of clean energy, Orkel compactors also makes the storage and transport of waste safe; protect the health of nearby communities by preventing unpleasant odors, scattered debris, and groundwater contamination; and significantly reduce the volume of agricultural and municipal waste.