Senate President Vicente Sotto III wants to repeal a provision in Republic Act 8749, or the Clean Air Act of 1999, which prohibits incineration of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes to allow treatment technologies for waste disposal or for the processing of any material for fuel.
Sotto noted that one of the effective and sustainable waste treatment technologies that are being adopted in many countries is Waste-to-Energy incineration method.
He said it is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the incineration of waste.
Europe, he said, is known to be the largest market for WTE technologies while Japan dominates 60 percent of Asia-Pacific WTE market for incineration.
“The said method does not only reduce the mountains of waste in landfills but also generate energy as well in doing so,” he said.
While WTE could be an ideal and beneficial system, Sotto said the Philippines could not adopt it because of the prohibition under Section 20 of RA 8749.
Section 20 states that incineration of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes, is prohibited.
“Thus, Section 20 of the said law is being repealed to allow regulated thermal and other treatment technologies for the disposal of municipal and hazardous wastes, or for the processing of any material for fuel,” Sotto said.
In proposing Senate Bill 2076, or “An Act Regulating the Use of Treatment Technology for Municipal and Hazardous Wastes,” Sotto said thermal and other treatment technologies for the disposal of municipal and hazardous wastes “shall be designed and operated to meet the standards established by this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.”
Under the bill, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will be the primary agency responsible for the implementation and enforcement of the measure while the local government units will be mandated to promote, encourage and implement a comprehensive solid waste management in their respective jurisdiction.
The LGUs should also establish treatment facilities within the region, province or strategically clustered LGUs in consonance with their respective 10-year solid waste management plans.