MANILA, September 7, 2011-In order to address the worsening problem of waste disposal in the country, Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV pushes for the amendment of the Clean Air Act to allow the use of incinerators.
In light of the “trashslide” set off by heavy rains in Baguio City that killed six (6) people and buried homes below the mountain of garbage in Irisan dumpsite last month, Trillanes filed Senate Bill No. 225 to revise the law signed in 1999 where he said that waste management has become an issue and has posed serious problems in the country.
“This means that waste must be properly disposed in manner that it will not become a significant environmental burden,” Trillanes said, saying that one way of dealing with the perennial trash woes is to allow the operation of incinerators in the country as he noted that existing technology has made it safer while at the same time produce the much needed electric power.
Trillanes admitted that although there are serious environmental concerns about incineration, advances in emission control designs, along with strict standards and monitoring system have caused large reduction of pollution in the atmosphere.
The young legislator cited Japan where experts have made headway in emission control designs, and coupled with very stringent governmental regulations have substantially cut down the amount of dioxins and furans emissions using the technology.
“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 pointed out.
He said that this is an opportune time to repeal Section 20 of the Clean Air Act (Republic Act 8749) and tap incinerators as a viable waste disposal method and promote it to generate power under the waste-to-energy (WTE) technology, adding that the 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 the cities. (Jason de Asis)
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