MANILA — Environment group Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) on Saturday urged President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to reject proposals to establish waste-to-energy facilities in the Philippines, as this would only do harm in the long-term.

Miriam Azurin, deputy-director of GAIA Asia-Pacific, said there are at least 20 waste-to-energy projects currently in the pipeline and this could get the backing of international financing institutions.

“Bale ang incinerator po, unang-una, bawal iyan sa Pilipinas. Mayroon po tayong ban sa Clean Air Act, may ban po tayo sa incinerator at mayroon din tayong ban sa Ecological Solid Waste Management Act sa lahat ng uri ng incinerator kahit medical incinerators bawal po iyan sa Pilipinas,” said Azurin in a briefing in Quezon City.

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“Unang-una, ang incinerator po, masama po sa kalusugan natin iyan. Ang incinerator, sabi nakakabawas ng basura sa landfill dahil nari-reduce niya ang basura ng 90% daw physically. Pero nilalagay lang natin iyong basura sa langit, nililipat natin siya sa usok na nalalanghap natin,” Azurin added.

The environmentalist also warned that the incinerator’s fly ash — the ash generated by the incinerator — could cause cancer and could spread microplastics, dioxin, and furans.

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Experts have earlier described dioxin and furans as the worst toxic substances from the incinerators.

The effects of dioxins and furans include cancers such as leukemia and can also cause reproductive disorders for men.

For women, these toxins cause ovarian dysfunction and reduced fertility, he said. It can also cause birth defects and reduced learning ability among children.

“Niri-regulate na po iyan ng World Health Organization dahil cancer-causing, nagkakaroon ng lung problems, mga neurological disorders na proven worldwide na nakikita na ng scientific community iyong effects ng mga incinerators sa mga waste workers na nag-o-operate ng incinerators pati doon sa mga communities around them,” she said.

“So marami na tayong studies – kahit iyong mga itlog sa farms sa tabi ng incinerator, na-monitor na iyan na nagkaroon ng dioxins and furans at iyan ay masama sa kalusugan,” she added.

PLASTIC POLLUTION

GAIA also called for proper waste disposal as well as waste reduction, to eliminate the country’s problem on plastic pollution.

This, after scientists in the Philippines found the presence of microplastics in the Laguna Lake and the air of Metro Manila. The National Capital Region sources a tenth of its water source from Laguna Lake.

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“Chemicals get embedded in the plastic… there is no standard that we know so far that fully regulates microplastics in… water,” said Yobel Novian Putra, GAIA’s Asia Pacific Climate and Clean Energy campaigner.

“The size [of microplastics] is very difficult to filter and once it is in the waterway, there is no real way to capture it,” Putra said.

Microplastics pose harm to one’s health, said the environmentalist. Scientists last year found the first evidence of microplastics in human blood and warned these ubiquitous particles could also be making their way into organs.

A recent Commission on Audit report – citing figures from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) – said the amount of waste in Metro Manila grew by 33.36 percent in 5 years, from 6,499,825.00 cubic meters in 2015 to 22,003,784.58 cubic meters in 2020.

Azurin said the report was not surprising, given how many local officials were not strictly implementing regulations.

“Hindi nakakagulat na tumaas siya dahil tumataas iyong populasyon at hindi nga maganda iyong ating waste management ‘no, iyong ating waste policies – imbes na i-prioritize iyong reduction policies; at wala pa nga tayong single-use plastic ban, kaya tataas talaga iyong basura,” she said.

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