MANILA, Philippines — A senator is seeking to amend the Clean Air Act to allow the use of incinerators to address the worsening problem of disposing of waste in urban areas that is seen to cause floods and, lately, a landslide.
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV has filed Senate Bill No. 225 to allow the use of the latest in incinerator technology to dispose of waste following the “trashlide” that buried several house and killed six persons near the Irisan dumpsite in Baguio City.
“Waste management has become an issue and has posed serious problems in the country,” Trillanes said. “This means that waste must be properly disposed in manner that it will not become a significant environmental burden.”
The senator said one way of dealing with the perennial trash woes is to allow the operation of incinerators in the country, noting that existing technology has made it cleaner and allows the harnessing of power for electricity.
According to Trillanes, this is an opportune time to repeal Section 20 of the Clean Air Act (Republic Act 8749) and tap incinerators and promote it to generate power under the waste-to-energy (WTE) technology.
“This technology provides for the safe disposal of waste without harmful emissions to the atmosphere, and at the same time, offers maximum benefits from the recovery of the valuable contents of the wastes from our cities,” he said.
Trillanes said experts in Japan have made headway in emission control and have substantially cut down the amount of dioxins and furans emitted in the use of incinerators.
“This is suitable for use in the country since it is difficult to secure final disposal sites due to our becoming limited land space. It is estimated that when incinerated, waste shall be reduced to approximately one-tenth of its weight and one-twentieth of its volume,” he said.
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By: Rolly T. Carandang
Source: Manila Bulletin, Sept. 6, 2011
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