THE House of Representatives on Wednesday night overwhelmingly approved a bill intended to address the Philippines’ catastrophic solid waste management crisis and reduce pollution that worsens flooding. Despite strong opposition from environmental groups, House Bill (HB) 9157, or the “Waste-to-Energy Act,” passed with 255 voting in favor, six opposed and three abstentions. The measure still needs to pass the Senate, of course, although there is no reason to believe at this point that it would not. As it was already designated a priority legislative measure by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., it is very likely that the resulting law would take effect sometime before the end of the year.
This development should be viewed with both cautious optimism and some concern. If properly and consistently enforced, the proposed law would be enormously beneficial in reducing solid waste pollution and breaking the country’s reliance on dangerous and environmentally unsound landfills. However, there are some troublesome gaps in the measure, and there are legitimate concerns raised by the bill’s opponents that have not been fully addressed.
As stated in the bill, the overall objective of HB 9157 is to establish a national framework for the development, regulation and operation of facilities utilizing waste-to-energy (WtE) and other waste treatment technologies. The preamble to the bill also emphasizes the goal of reducing flooding caused by solid waste accumulation in waterways, drainage systems and flood control infrastructure. It also stresses the objective of reducing dependence on open dumpsites, which is no small point, as events in the past few months have demonstrated in tragic terms that the Philippines is quickly approaching a crisis in terms of solid waste management by means of landfills. Cebu’s only usable landfill suffered a catastrophic collapse a few months ago, leading to the city government declaring a “garbage emergency;” Metro Manila and surrounding areas were afflicted with dangerous air pollution for a time due to the stubborn fire that broke out within the abandoned Navotas landfill last month; and just this week, a landslide at the main landfill serving Davao City tragically resulted in several people being killed.
The aspect of the bill that we find rather alarming is that under the measure, WtE facilities will primarily function as energy production facilities while integrating solid waste management systems consistent with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. This, we believe, is a mistake. WtE is not primarily an energy solution, it is a solid waste solution. Energy production from WtE facilities should not be prioritized, because the stream of waste feeding the facility will, ideally, be reduced over time due to other worthy efforts to reduce solid waste, namely recycling programs, programs to implement “greener” packaging and other waste-reduction measures. One of the major complaints of environmental groups is that WtE systems, because they require a steady supply of feedstock (i.e., garbage) if the energy production aspect is prioritized, tend to discourage other waste-reduction initiatives.
This is absolutely correct. The measure should be considered primarily as a solid waste management measure, with energy production being considered as a secondary and variable benefit. In fact, the bill, while classifying WtE as primarily an energy solution, sabotages itself by specifically banning the import of waste, whether it comes from sources outside the country, or from distant domestic sources. That ban is absolutely appropriate, but as one of our editors who has specific experience in designing a WtE system has explained, it absolutely eliminates the WtE facility as a reliable source of electricity generation; it can supplement power needs, but only to a modest and intermittent extent.
The other major concern of those opposed to WtE is its environmental risks of waste incineration, which is what WtE actually is, no matter how its proponents may style it otherwise. These are valid concerns, because in order for WtE to work effectively and minimize environmental risk, it must operate with a high degree of technical and management efficiency. There are WtE systems that reduce the waste involved to a minimal, low-impact volume without creating harmful emissions, but having witnessed the poor state of landfill management — the recent calamity in Davao, for example, revealed that just about every regulation pertaining to landfills had been violated — there are legitimate concerns about whether the prescriptions of the new proposed law will be faithfully followed. Thoroughness and attention to detail in setting up the implementing rules and regulations for the new law, and maintaining strict compliance will be key to the success of the initiative.
