QC dads want ban on incinerators lifted to clear way for waste-to-energy plant

The Quezon City council has asked Congress to lift the ban on incinerators under the Clean Air Act of 1999 and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 to pave the way for the setup of a waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in the city, a project discussed by City Hall officials and the group of businessman Manny Pangilinan last year.

In a resolution approved late last month and addressed to former Quezon City mayor and now Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., the councilors asked members of the lower house to file a bill amending the two laws.

They said the city’s growing population and economic development had increased the generation of solid waste, posing disposal problems.

Setting up landfills has been an option, but the local government is limited by “the scarcity of land (and) the exorbitant cost of acquiring such” within the city.

Having a sanitary landfill outside Quezon City would entail additional hauling costs, the resolution added.

A more sustainable or long-term solution would be a “state-of-the-art WTE facility” similar to those extensively used in the United States, Japan, South Korea and Europe, it said.

Apart from requiring a smaller land area, it added, “a WTE project provides socioeconomic and environmental benefits” such as lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduced dependence on fossil fuel, job generation and having an alternative energy source.

But such a facility could not be set up because of the two laws banning incineration as a means of waste disposal.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2002 that the Clean Air Act could not absolutely ban incineration but only burning processes that emit poisonous and toxic fumes, the councilors noted.

“The amendment of said laws is necessary since technological advancements have ensured that (WTE) facilities can conform with the emission standards stated in the Clean Air Act,” the councilors stressed.

In June last year, the Quezon City government held exploratory talks with the Pangilinan group of companies for a possible joint venture operating a WTE plant.

Under the planned venture, the city would be supplying the garbage to be converted into energy while the Pangilinan group would finance the construction and operation of the facility.