Through a resolution sponsored by Councilor Numero Lim of Manila’s second district, councilors from various political blocs expressed “strong and vehement opposition” to the use of incinerators for garbage disposal as proposed by the Metro Manila Development Authority.
The City Council cited health, environmental and economic reasons for rejecting incinerators, adding “that these devices are notoriously expensive because of the energy required to burn garbage.”
In lieu of incineration, the City Council urged the government to enforce “with vigor and political will” proven waste prevention and reduction measures such as source separation, reusing, recycling and composting.
The resolution immediately drew a chorus of approval from various citizens’ groups that see waste as a resource, which should be recycled back to nature or commerce instead of being dumped or burned and causing toxic pollution.
“We laud Councilor Lim and the City Council for weighing in on moves to lift the incineration ban that is enshrined in two major environmental laws. They are right in telling the concerned authorities to focus on real solutions, not on deceptive techno-fixes, that will address the garbage woes of Manila and the bulging metropolis,” said Froilan Grate, President of Mother Earth Foundation and NGO representative to the Metro Manila Solid Waste Management Board.
Republic Act 8749, the Clean Air Act, prohibits the “burning of municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes,” while Republic Act 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, calls for the “adoption of the best environmental practices in solid waste management excluding incineration.”
To drum up support for real solutions to garbage woes, various environmental health groups are conducting public outreach programs that will culminate with an anti-incineration parade on September 28 in Quezon City