Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition urged the national and local government units (LGUs) to stop investing in Waste-To-Energy (WTE) incineration projects and instead prioritize sustainable waste management practices that align with legal frameworks and truly address the needs of the community.
This developed following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s recent pronouncement for the immediate passage of the WTE Bill to address the flooding problem in the country.
The Waste-to-Energy Bill was approved on the third reading by the House of Representatives. It’s still pending for the second reading at the Senate.
The President cited the need to revisit the proposed measure, noting the waste-to-energy measure is an important discussion in flood control “because the garbage problem is actually severe.” He also said that the WTE projects have also reduced flooding by 40 percent.
However, EcoWaste said this claim of the President is not only misleading but “also dangerously simplistic, which fails to address the multifaceted challenges of waste management and urban flooding in the Philippines.”
In a statement, EcoWaste stated that the President’s suggestion that WTE can be integral to flood control efforts, implying that converting plastic waste to energy could somehow alleviate the flooding issues in the Philippines underestimates the complexity of urban flooding, which is driven by multiple factors, including inadequate drainage systems, alteration of natural waterways, loss of wetlands due to urban development, siltation, and climate effects particularly increased in storm intensity, rainfall frequency, and sea-level rise.
“Plastic wastes that clog our sewerage are not the only cause of flooding,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition.
Lucero said cities in Southeast Asia have WTE incinerators but yet are facing worsening flooding problems and cited the example of Bekasi, Indonesia’s 134.9-megawatt WTE incinerator, which is currently operating coming from wastes collected from Jakarta metropolitan. According to the group, Bekasi until today is extremely flood-prone with poor drainage systems.
Lucero also said the assertion of Marcos that WTE can contribute to flood control overlooks the constitutional rights of every Filipino to a balanced and healthful ecology.
“The potential health risks associated with WTE incineration facilities cannot be ignored. WTE incinerators emit a range of pollutants, including hazardous substances such as dioxins and furans, which pose significant risks to public health,” she said.
To recall, the city government of Davao is proposing the establishment of WTE to address waste problems. The project is still pending at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
During his State of the City Address (SOCA) in August this year, Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte announced that DENR has resumed efforts to proceed with the project.
“Just recently, the DENR has informed us that they are resuming efforts to proceed with the project, specifically funding support from them by the year 2026,” the mayor said.
EcoWaste is advocating for sustainable solutions to address flooding problems requiring integrated and coordinated actions in these four key areas: drainage management, waste management, flood control, and citizen participation.
The group also underscored that rather than investing in WTE, cities should adopt a multi-faceted and sectoral approach to address flooding that would consider the following actions: improved waste segregation and recycling, implement rainwater collection, strictly implement zoning policies, invest in modernizing and expanding drainage infrastructure, raise public awareness about waste management, and partner with civil society organizations to advocate and replicate sustainable practices.
