Analysts warn waste-to-energy projects cannot solve Philippines’ garbage crisis
Analysts say waste-to-energy (WTE) projects alone will not fix the Philippines' waste management issues, as they do not reduce waste at the source and could undermine recycling efforts. They caution that WTE may worsen flooding by incentivising plastic production and call for better collection, segr
Waste-to-energy (WTE) projects alone will not be enough to address the Philippines’ waste management issues, according to analysts, even as the government pushes ahead with a dedicated green energy auction for the technology this year.
“WTE can trim the volume of residual waste going to landfills, but that is the limit of its usefulness,” Noel M. Baga, coconvenor of think tank Center for Energy Research and Policy, told BusinessWorld. “It manages waste after the fact rather than reducing it at the source, and its contribution to the power supply would be marginal.”
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. earlier this month said the country could begin seeing a waste-to-energy system by 2027, as the government seeks to address mounting garbage that is clogging drainage systems and worsening flood risks during heavy rains. The President has said local government units would bring collected garbage to WTE facilities instead of landfills, which he said are becoming increasingly full and expensive to use.
Mr. Baga said the garbage clogging the waterways was a “failure of collection, segregation, and enforcement, not of disposal capacity.” “Treating it as a flood solution only diverts attention from what actually works: better collection, drainage, and enforcement of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act,” he said. He also raised concerns about the health risks posed by WTE facilities, as incineration-based ones release dioxins, furans, and other pollutants associated with respiratory and cardiovascular illness in nearby communities.
Gerry C. Arances, executive director of the Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development, said WTE facilities would not help reduce flooding as it could even incentivize the production and consumption of plastics under the belief that waste can simply be incinerated. “In fact, our waste problem could worsen and undo years of progress in waste management as WTE needs trash as feedstock to generate power,” Mr. Arances told BusinessWorld. He said the Philippines must focus on tapping solar solutions to address energy supply problems rather than staging a green energy auction (GEA) dedicated to WTE. “We must do away with false alternatives and solutions to the energy crisis, especially when the Philippines’ 91 GW (gigawatts) potential for power sourced from rooftop solar remains largely untapped,” he said.
The Department of Energy (DoE) is set to conduct a GEA solely for WTE this year. The special round for WTE has set an installation target of 400 megawatts (MW), with winning bidders’ projects targeted to be completed by 2028 to begin supplying electricity by the end of 2029. According to DoE, Metro Manila alone generates an estimated 9,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste per day, which could support approximately 200 MW of WTE capacity, subject to the availability and suitability of feedstock.
Energy Secretary Sharon S. Garin said WTE is more of an environmental project rather than an energy project that could lessen the amount of garbage all over the metropolitan area. “I think waste-to-energy can complement (but) it cannot replace recycling because that would be the best thing for us to do. But right now, we are at the level that we need to really dispose of this garbage so that it doesn’t go back,” Ms. Garin told BusinessWorld. She said the upcoming GEA for WTE is gaining traction, with six potential bids from Metro Manila alone. “We are seeing significant interest from developers, but our objective is not simply to award capacity. We want projects that are technically sound, environmentally compliant, supported by sustainable feedstock, commercially viable, and capable of delivering electricity to the grid,” she said.
