In reaction to endorsements and plans for introducing waste-to-energy technology in the Philippines, Abigail Aguilar, Detox Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia – Philippines, said:
“Greenpeace is concerned about President Duterte’s endorsement of waste-to-energy (WTE) technologies[1] and Hitachi Zosen’s plans to construct a garbage-burning power plant in the Philippines[2]. We stand by our position that ‘waste-to-energy’ and ‘integrated waste management systems’ are just fancy names for incinerators, and not at all clean, renewable or healthy. Incinerators go against the principle of sustainability. Their toxic emissions can never be controlled once released to the environment, therefore lethal to humans and damaging to the ecology.
“WTE goes against the very purpose of the Clean Air Act, which seeks to curb pollution. It runs against the zero-waste vision of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, encouraging more waste generation rather than recycling, thus promoting a culture of overconsumption. We should instead promote practice of reduction, segregation at source, recycling and reuse. The government should couple this with Renewable Energy solutions, which are cleaner and more viable.”