WTE, power plant not the solution to Cebu City’s power, garbage woes – Dizon

Garbage, composed mostly of plastic water bottles, are seen on a portion of General Maxilom Avenue in Cebu City during the Sinulog 2020 celebration on January 19, 2020. | CDN Digital file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Spending millions on the installation of a waste-to-energy (WTE) facility and a city-operated power plant will not necessarily address Cebu City’s garbage and power woes.

This is the reason why Councilor Alvin Dizon is urging Mayor Michael Rama to reconsider his plan to establish a WTE and a city owned and operated power plant.

On the contrary, this will only add to environmental degradation, he said.

“As to the first proposal of the mayor, I strongly argue that the adoption of WTE technology is not a solution to address the city’s power generation and waste management system. WTE, which uses incineration, will increase the generation of trash and undermine environmentally sound approaches to managing discards while producing highly toxic pollutants that is harmful to public health,” Dizon in a privilege speech which he delivered during the City Council’s session last January 19.

Dizon spoke to air his opinion on the mayor’s plan to establish a WTE facility and power plant here as part of his post-Odette recovery plan.

Rama believes that having its own WTE and power plant will make the city disaster-resilient.

During his speech, Dizon said, studies that were made earlier show that WTE’s are detrimental to the environment.

These studies show that WTEs produce carbon dioxide 20 times more than the other producers and are considered as  contributors to climate change.

Dizon is asking Rama to find other solutions to the city’s power and garbage woes that are sustainable and environment-friendly like the full implementation of a “Zero Waste” program by recycling, composting and reuse.

If done properly, this will reduce the volume of trash that are sent to landfills, he said.

On Rama’s plan to put up a power plant here, Dizon said, having a coal-fired power plant is dangerous for the city.

“The Cebu City Council sponsored the first ever coal-free resolution in the country. That resolution was passed by the 13th Sangguniang Panlungsod and had been replicated by other local governments. Coal-fired power plants are the main culprit in global warming and contributed about one-quarter of total emissions of carbon dioxide worldwide,” he said.

“A coal power plant which burns dirty and deadly coal to generate electricity has no place in a climate vulnerable city like Cebu. Let us endeavor to promote cleaner and renewable energy that reduces harmful air pollutants,” Dizon added.

Dizon said that while it is important for the city to be disaster-resilient, this should not be done at the expense of the environment.

He also reminded Rama that climate change was traced to have been a major contributor of the recent disasters that the country and other parts of the world have been faced with.

The last thing that Cebu City should do is to aid global warming and be a contributor to future major disasters, he added.