A coalition of civil-society organizations (CSOs) has expressed alarm over a move in the House of Representatives to repeal a law that bans the use of incineration to pave the way for waste-to-energy (WTE) projects.
In a news statement issued on Tuesday, the group calling itself the No Burn Pilipinas wants lawmakers to scrap House Bill 2286, which seeks to repeal the provision that bans waste incineration under Republic Act (RA) 8749, or the Clean Air Act and RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
No Burn Pilipinas is composed of over 50 CSOs that oppose waste incineration and WTE projects as a solution to the country’s looming garbage crisis.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) said the WTE initiative will “hit two birds with one stone” since it will solve not only the looming garbage crisis but also boost the country’s power or energy supply.
The NSWMC has already put in place a guideline for the implementation of WTE, but a big hurdle to its implementation are laws that ban the use of incinerators.
The group also criticized the DENR for promoting WTE which, it says, is not only “regressive”, but runs counter to the agency’s own mandate to ensure a healthy environment for all Filipinos.
“Repealing the incineration ban is bad news for the environment, public health and local communities,” said Von Hernandez, global coordinator of the Break Free from Plastic Movement.
“It represents a regressive move on the part of Congress, at a time when the planet is in dire need of genuine solutions to the climate and waste crisis. Worse, it presents a triple whammy for Filipinos as so-called WTE plants translate to higher electricity costs, higher waste-disposal fees and higher risks of cancer for host communities,” he said.
Hernandez lamented that the DENR is paving the way for the resurgence of waste-incineration proposals in the country through WTE projects in the guise of pyrolysis or gasification technologies.
“It is scandalous that the government agency mandated to implement our environmental laws is the same one working hard to undermine the spirit and intent of such laws,” he said.
According to No Burn Pilipinas, burning waste has much health, environmental, social and economic consequences. Incinerators, threaten human health, pollute air, harm economies, contribute significantly to global warming and fuel an unsustainable system of consumption and wasting.
Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, for her part, said: “The push to revoke the incineration ban will undermine source segregation, recycling and other zero-waste strategies that conserve resources, avoid toxic pollution and generate livelihoods and jobs. Instead of overturning the prohibition on waste burning, Congress should, in fact, strengthen it by passing waste prevention and reduction measures complementing RA 9003, such as banning single-use plastic bags, disallowing recyclable and compostable materials in disposal facilities, curbing e-waste, and incentivizing innovations in waste-management sector.”
The group said experiences around the world have also shown that WTE, through incineration, is the most expensive and most energy-intensive way to manage waste and generate electricity. Incinerators are capital intensive and are more expensive than coal and nuclear facilities.
It cited a US Energy Information Administration report stating the projected capital cost of new waste-incinerator facilities is twice the cost of coal-fired power plants and 60 percent more than the cost of nuclear-energy facilities. Waste-incinerator operations and maintenance costs are 10 times the cost for coal plants and four times the cost of nuclear plants.
Lea Guerrero, climate and clean energy campaigner of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, for her part, said incinerators are “a costly folly.”
“Should these facilities be built in the Philippines, the budget will be in the tens of billions of pesos. There will also be massive increases in tipping fees by local government units [LGUs] who are already stretched for funds. Clearly, it’s a bad investment given that it’s also the wrong way to manage waste,” she said.
Sonia Mendoza, chairman of Mother Earth Foundation said a better alternative remains the strict implementation of the garbage law.
“Implementing zero-waste solutions is inexpensive and can be started immediately. If properly implemented, results can be seen in a few months as in the case of the city of San Fernando in Pampanga. We are calling on other LGUs to reject all incineration and WTE proposals, and instead pursue the zero-waste approach, starting with the strict implementation of RA 9003,” she said.
The Philippines produces around 40,000 tons of garbage every day, with Metro Manila contributing 9,000 tons on a daily basis. The DENR and NSWMC have lamented the failure of LGU to enforce proper waste segregation at source, composting and disposal.
The DENR, NSWMC and the Office of the Ombudsman have filed cases against officials of 50 LGUs and are preparing cases for officials of 100 LGUs for violation of RA 9003.
NSWMC Secretariat Executive Director Eli Ildelfonso and DENR Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas R. Leones said the WTE solution is just one of several options for LGUs given the circumstances of their failure to enforce the garbage law.