Burning trash and incinerators will just harm the environment

Generating electricity from wastes seems to be a win-win solution. You produce electricity from non-fossil sources—as opposed to crude oil and coal—and reduce carbon emissions at the same time to help protect the environment.

But the waste-to-energy option is far from ideal. It involves waste incineration that contributes to air pollution. Toxic fumes from incinerators, as we know, are bad for the health, especially in areas with a large concentration of population.

Incinerator companies nowadays are marketing waste-to-energy as a source of renewable energy. Unlike wind, solar or wave energy, however, waste is produced from finite natural processes, like fossil fuels and forest trees that are mowed down irresponsibly. Environment warriors should pause and think about the merits and demerits of advocating the waste-to-energy choice.

The Senate is now deliberating on a bill to institutionalize the production of energy from waste. The objectives of the bill are commendable, although careful studies should be made to really ascertain that the Philippines can, indeed, manage waste efficiently and secure energy supply.

It is basic that one has to burn garbage to produce heat and electricity and that the main equipment to do this is through an incinerator.

Highly-developed nations with advanced WTE technology have invested billions of dollars on facilities that turn waste into electricity with very minimal impact on the environment. Can investors in the Philippines afford the big investment?

They sure can with higher power rates to justify the investment. Or they may seek subsidies to support incineration.

Waste management, meanwhile, will surely undergo a horde of regulations, with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, local government units and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources jostling with each other to stamp their authority.

An investor will think twice before joining the the WTE foray. The Department of Energy (DOE) is another layer of bureaucracy that one has to navigate. One wonders how will the DOE coordinate its act with other agencies,whose main tasks revolve around collecting, segregating, storing and preparing the tens of