MANILA - Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Minister Fortunato dela Peña stated

one in every of his preliminary hopes while taking workplace changed into to introduce waste-to-
strength (WTE) era into the country. Earlier this week, De La Peña stated while he visited and
toured his absolutely operational WTE facility in Los Baños, Laguna, he changed into capable of
affirm that imaginative and prescient had sooner or later come true. “DOST has helped set up a
25 kW municipal waste incinerator the usage of a right away municipal waste incineration
system as a probable approach to the country's developing municipal waste production,” he
stated.
This technical observe will generally awareness at the performance of strength restoration
because the MSW movement and determine the feasibility of WTE direct combustion era with
inside the Philippines. Procedures to mitigate fuel line emissions can also be assessed to make
certain the system is environmentally sound, he added.
 Construction of a 25 kW home waste incinerator (WTE) primarily based totally on direct
incineration era.
 Monitoring and characterization of flue fuel line emissions generated by WTE processes;
 Provide and motion plan and suggestions for imposing the WTE direct incineration
system as an ability MSW control option with inside the Philippines. Della Peña stated
policymakers, authorities’ agencies, lawmakers and the country's strength region may
also enjoy the initiative. “At the municipal level, the proposed era may be used to clear
up the waste control hassle of the University and Los Baños,
This facility may be used to system waste from the college and surrounding regions," he stated.
Waste technology with inside the Philippines is developing rapidly and is a prime hassle,
particularly in densely populated regions which includes Metro Manila, Southern Tagalog and
Central Luzon. “This challenge hopes to provide science-primarily based totally statistics on
waste incineration era via direct incineration systems.
City officials of the Philippines' second most populous metropolis have signed a joint venture
with local incinerator company New Sky Energy, Inc (NSEI) for a waste-to-energy facility to be
built by 2025.
Under the agreement inked last Thursday, NSEI will invest close to US$82 million to construct
the incinerator, and in return, city mayor Mike Rama consented to use the facility and pay a
tipping fee higher than the current base fees being paid for using landfills. This is the first large-
scale WTE in the country, after a proposal for a US$423 million facility in Quezon City stalled
in 2019, amid strong opposition from environmental groups.
The signing of the joint venture went forward despite protests from green watchdogs Eco waste
Coalition and Health Care without Harm, which are preparing to contest the legality of the
agreement.
They argue that it is in violation of the country's environmental laws such as the Clean Air Act
and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act which ban waste burning.
“Mayor Rama's agreement with NSEI undermines citizens' efforts to minimize and reduce their
waste, while locking the city into a very long tenure of dirty and expensive waste management
system,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of Eco waste Coalition.
“Incinerators disguised as waste-to-energy facilities remain deleterious to health as they still emit
toxic pollutants such as dioxin, lead, and mercury into the environment.
But the project can convert up to 800 metric tons of municipal solid waste into 160 million
kilowatts of electricity, enough to power 40,000 households per year, said city councilor Joel
Garganera, chairman of the committee on environment.
Garganera argued that there is no total ban on incineration in local laws, contrary to what
environmentalists are protesting, saying the only incineration that is banned in the Clean Air Act
is that which produces “poisonous and toxic fumes.”
“The New Sky WTE will not be emitting poisonous and toxic fumes, and will remain compliant
at all times with the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws in the country,” Garganera told
Eco-Business.
Meanwhile, Froilan Grate, executive director of anti-waste burning group Global Alliance for
Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) Philippines, debunked Garganera's claim on the amount of
electricity that the facility can provide for households.
He said operators of incinerators in Japan admit that despite the high rate of incineration in metro
Tokyo, it has failed to produce a significant amount of energy needed by the city, making it
“concerning” that the Cebu City officials have based their decision on the energy potential of the
project. This, in addition to the price they pay for their health, is the negative impact on the
environment and the livelihoods of the city's waste workers and recyclers," he added.
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