Manila councilor says no to incinerators

MANILA, Philippines—A Manila city councilor has expressed his “vehement opposition” to the use of incinerators to manage garbage in overflowing sanitary landfills.

Reacting to reports that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority is mulling bringing back incinerators to handle Metro Manila’s garbage problems, second district Councilor Numero Lim wrote a draft resolution urging his peers to nip that plan in the bud.

In his resolution set to be presented during Tuesday’s council session, Lim warned of the repercussions of having incinerators in the city, citing the high level of pollution that could result from the carbon dioxide and toxic gas emissions.

Lim said incinerator emissions could “cause grave health problems and that “these devices are notoriously expensive because of the energy required to burn garbage.”

He pointed out that using incinerators would violate the Clean Air Act.

Lim suggested that the government instead implement segregation, recycling, reusing and composting “with vigor and political will.”

Lim lamented that although these alternative waste disposal methods have been enshrined in law, the Metro Manila public appeared to be still unaware of them.  Manila, he said, has been churning out 8,400 to 8,600 tons of trash a day due to the lack of education on proper waste disposal and recycling methods.