Groups oppose Cebu City plan to build waste-to-energy facility

ENVIRONMENTAL groups on Wednesday slammed the plan of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama to install an incinerator waste-to-energy (WTE) facility that will convert the huge volume of garbage produced in the city and nearby towns into energy.

Such project, the group Philippine Earth Justice Center (PEJC) alleged, would only exacerbate the public health and the ecological crisis caused by climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Establishing WTE facilities is an extremely expensive and dirty solid waste management method which will cause more harm to the environment and accelerate climate change. Cebu City’s strategy on climate and post-disaster resilience should be based on ecological and sustainable principles. We urge Mayor Rama to rethink and scrap his plan of putting up a WTE facility in the city and consider instead investing in renewable energy sources,” PEJC’S Atty. Kristine Joy Argallon said.

The Ecowaste Coalition believes Cebu City will end up shouldering a heavy financial burden by entering into a contract with the contractor/provider of the WTE facility.

“Typical WTE contracts have decadeslong terms and contain lock-in provisions that will bind the city to expensive and onerous obligations for a long time. This is an unnecessary expenditure of public funds on a system that is dangerous to public health and the environment. The city’s strategy should be based on a robust implementation of programs that focus on waste minimization, materials recovery and recycling. We hope Mayor Rama and the Cebu City Council will scrap the waste-to-energy plans for the city and reconsider their approach to waste management,” Atty. Lievj Alimangohan of the Ecowaste Coalition said.