Waste Treatment Technology Act

: TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE JUL 10 P6:36 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session SENATE S. B. No. 156 Introduced by Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta AN ACT REGULATING THE USE OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR MUNICIPAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 20 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8749, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999 EXPLANATORY NOTE Since the enactment of Republic Act No. 9003 (RA 9003) or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, solid waste generation has steadily increased instead of its goal of reducing the same.' In 2020, at least 16.63 million metric tons of solid waste was reported, with recent data showing that the daily average amounts to 61,000 metric tons of solid waste generated, 24% of which are said to be plastic wastes.? These statistics clearly show the frail enforcement of our current laws. With the overwhelming amount of solid wastes generated, existing landfills are now at the brink of exceeding their capacities. In order to successfully address the waste management problem, there must be strong policies in place, supported by a national commitment both by the government and its people, with adherence to the highest standard form of discipline possible. Incineration involves burning waste in specially designed furnaces at temperatures exceeding 850°C. This thermal treatment efficiently converts waste into thermal energy thus reducing landfill dependency and recovering usable energy for 'COA, Solid Waste Management Program, April 2023, available at https://www.coa.gov.ph/reports/performance-audit- reports/2023-2/solid-waste-management-program/# (last accessed on July 07, 2025). -Dennis Subbotnitskiy, NUTEC Plastics: The Philippines Forges Ahead with Radiation Technology for Plastic Recycling, availabl at https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/nutec-plastics-the-philippines-forges-ahead-with-radiation-technology-for-plastic recycling (last accessed on July 07, 2025).

consumption. 3 Although there are serious environmental concerns about incineration, advances in emission control designs, along with strict standards and monitoring systems have caused large reduction of pollution in the atmosphere. In fact, both Singapore and Sweden, as well as other countries, have successfully used this process in addressing their waste management problems. Singapore's Tuas Incineration Plant, with a capacity of 3,200 tons/day, has not only generated 80 MW of electricity but has also integrated advanced fuel gas cleaning and ash recycling systems, representing a holistic approach to waste management and energy recovery. While for Sweden, more than 50% of its municipal solid waste goes through incineration. The Okhla Waste-to-Energy (WTE) Plant, in Delhi, India, incinerates approximately 1,500 tons of municipal solid waste per day, generating around 16 MW of electricity.* The incineration process involves four vital stages: drying, pyrolysis, combustion, and post-combustion. Each stage plays a critical role in ensuring that waste is transformed efficiently with minimal emissions. The post-combustion stage is the most essential stage for meeting emission regulations and protecting air quality. Modern incineration plants utilize emission control systems, like electrostatic precipitators and scrubbers to remove particulates, dioxins, and sulfur oxides, ensuring compliance with current environmental standards. Recent developments in resource recovery from WTE residues allow recycling of metals and, in the case of sewage sludge, even phosphorus by thermal recycling. Combined with carbon capture and storage technology, WTE stands for a quantifiable contribution to greenhouse gas reduction. This is indispensable to reach the goals of circular economy, namely recycling of energy and materials, supplying safe final sinks for persistent organic substances and minimizing the need for sinks for hazardous inorganic substances.5 The ban on incineration was premised on the need to reduce the release of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrous oxide (NO2) which bring about global warming and induce climate change. However, both landfill and the combustion of untreated mixed waste will release 3 Aishu S, Incineration of Municipai Solid Waste: Exploring Processes, Benefits, and Future Trends, May 24, 2025, available at https://prezi.com/p/9dvvej1u4zos/incineration-of-municipal-solid-waste/ (last accessed on July 07, 2025). 4 [bid. § Paul H. Brunner, Leo S. Morf, Waste to Energy, Indispensable Cornerstone for Circular Economy: a Mini-Review, Volume 43, Issue 1, WASTE MANAGEMENT & RESEARCH: THE JOURNAL FOR A SUSTAINABLE CIRCULAR ECONOMY, 26-38 (2024), available at https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11690026/ (last accessed on July 07, 2025).

carbon into the atmosphere, in different amounts. Landfill produces roughly equal amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, whereas energy from waste only produces carbon dioxide. As methane is around 25 times more damaging to the atmosphere, it is considered that WTE has a less detrimental impact on the environment overall. 6 Republic Act No. 8749 (RA 8749) or the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 closed the option to safely and neatly dispose of municipal solid wastes by incineration which can generate electricity, targeting the two existing problems of our country: garbage and energy. With the latest trends and updates in the process of incineration, it is deemed to be a more feasible solution to the looming problem of waste management. The Supreme Court even pronounced in the case of Metro Manila Development Authority v. JANCOM Environmental Corporation (G.R. No. 147465, January 30, 2002) that the Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 does not absolutely prohibit incinerators as a mode of waste disposal "rather only those burning processes which emit poisonous toxic fumes are banned." This bill seeks to repeal RA 8749 and lift the blanket prohibition on the use of incinerators in the disposal of solid wastes in the country. The proposed measure also aims to promote the use of recent advances in WTE technology, providing for the safe disposal of wastes without the harmful emissions to the atmosphere. Finally, the bill sustains the primacy of using non-burn technologies or ZeroWaste paths in waste disposal, such as recycling and waste segregation, as mandated by RA 9003. In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this measure is earnestly sought. RODANTE D. MARCOLETA 6 University of Birmingham, The Future of Waste-to-Energy - is it as Good as We are Led to Believe?, April 01, 2021, available at https://hub.birmingham.ac.uk/resources/article/llm-future-of-waste-to-energy/ (last accessed on July 07, 2025).

TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE JUL 10 P6:36 REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES First Regular Session SENATE S. B. No. _ Introduced by Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta AN ACT REGULATING THE USE OF TREATMENT TECHNOLOGY FOR MUNICIPAL AND HAZARDOUS WASTES, REPEALING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 20 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8749, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PHILIPPINE CLEAN AIR ACT OF 1999 Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Waste Treatment

Technology Act.

Sec. 2. Incineration. - Section 20 of Republic Act No. 8749 (RA 8749) or the

Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999 is hereby repealed and shall read as follows: "Sec. 20. [Ban on Incineration, Incineration, hereby defined as the burning of municipal, bio medical, and hazardous waste, which process emits poisonous and toxic fumes is hereby prohibited, Provided however, That the profibition shall not apply to traditional small scale methed of community/neighberhood sanitation "siga", traditional, agricultural, cultural, health, and food preparation and crematoria:, Provided, further, That existing incinerators dealing with a bio medical wastes shall be phased out within three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act, Provided, finally, that in the interim, such units shall be limited to the burning of pathologieat and infectious wastes, and subject to close monitoring by the Department. Local government units are hereby mandated to promote, encourage and implement in their respective jurisdiction a comprehensive ecolegical waste management that includes waste segregation, recycling and composting..

INCINERATION SHALL BE ALLOWED FOR THE TREATMENT OF WASTE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENERGY CONVERSION. ADVANCED AIR EMISSION CONTROL AND STRINGENT REGULATIONS SHALL BE PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT WASTES ARE DISPOSED OF WITHOUT DETRIMENTAL IMPACT TO THE ENVIRONMENT. PRODUCTS OF COMBUSTION FROM THE INCINERATORS MUST BE PROPERLY TREATED BEFORE GASES ARE RELEASED INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. TRADITIONAL AND/OR SMALL-SCALE METHODS OF COMMUNITY INCINERATION FOR SANITATION PURPOSES OR "SIGA", AGRICULTURAL, CULTURAL, HEALTH, FOOD PREPARATION, AND CREMATORIA INCINERATION SHALL CONTINUE TO BE ALLOWED, SUBJECT TO EXISTING RULES AND REGULATIONS. With due concern on the effects of climate change, the Department shall promote the use of the state-of-the-art, environmentally-sound and safe non- burn technologies for the handling, treatment, thermal destruction, utilization, and disposal of sorted, unrecycled, uncomposted municipal, bio-medical and hazardous wastes."

Sec. 3. Regulation of Waste Treatment Technology. - Thermal and other

treatment technologies for the disposal of municipal and hazardous wastes, or for the processing of any waste material for fuel, whether for commercial use or not, shall be designed and operated to meet the standards established pursuant to this Act and its implementing rules and regulations. These technologies shall be fitted with equipment that will continuously monitor, record, and make publicly available the reported data on their emissions or air pollutant concentrations. Proposed facilities that generate energy or waste-to-energy facilities shall be given priority over other treatment technologies. Entities utilizing such technologies shall incorporate in their facilities and operations the appropriate material recovery program. Thermal treatment units shall treat wastes at a temperature of not less than eight hundred fifty degrees centigrade (850°C).

Sec. 4. Lead Agencies. - The Department of Environment and Natural

2 Resources (DENR) shall be primarily responsible for the implementation and 3 enforcement of this Act, while the Department of Energy (DOE) is primarily responsible over relevant regulations pertaining to waste-to-energy facilities. Both agencies shall promote the use of state-of-the-art, environmentally-sound and safe technologies for the handling, treatment, thermal or non-thermal destruction, utilization, and disposal 7 of residual wastes. Pursuant to Sec. 15 of RA 8749, the Pollution Research and Development 9 Program shall likewise include the continuous monitoring, evaluation, and 10 development of more appropriate air quality guideline values and standards for the treatment of municipal and hazardous wastes, or for the processing of any waste material for fuel.

Sec. 5. Role of Local Government Units (LGUs) in Setting Up Treatment

14 Facilities. - The LGUs are hereby mandated to promote, encourage and implement in their respective jurisdictions a comprehensive solid waste management plan that includes waste reduction, segregation, recycling, composting, and recovery. The establishment of treatment facilities shall be facilitated by LGUs within a region, province, or strategically clustered LGUs, in consonance with their respective ten (10)- year solid waste management plans: Provided, That these are consistent with the national solid waste management framework established pursuant to Republic Act No. 9003 (RA 9003), otherwise known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.

Sec. 6. Role of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC). -

The solid waste management plans and supplemental disposal plans of all LGUs, including those which may carry out treatment projects, shall be submitted to the NSWMC which shall render a decision within ten (10) working days from submission thereof. The NSWMC shall put in writing the reasons for either approving or denying such plans.

Sec. 7. Role of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). - The DOST

shall undertake the necessary verification of the technology that will be used for the treatment or waste processing projects. The verification shall be completed and

reported in writing within ten (10) working days from receipt of the application, or twenty (20) working days if the application is for a new technology.

Sec. 8. Role of the DOE. - The DOE, in addition to its powers and functions

under Republic Act No. 7638, otherwise known as Department of Energy Act of 1992, shall, insofar as the establishment and operation of facilities that recover energy: a. Accredit and classify facilities that recover energy based on the energy output, and determine the standards, criteria and requirements applicable therefor pursuant to Republic Act No. 9136 (RA 9136), otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001, Republic Act No. 9367, otherwise known as the Biofuels Act of 2006, and Republic Act No. 9513, otherwise known as the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, whichever is applicable: Provided, That the energy generated from the facilities shall be regulated by the Energy Regulatory Commission insofar as the rates and pricing thereof; b. Include a waste-to-energy implementation strategy in the Philippines energy plan, which takes into consideration the national solid waste management framework; c. Make available to the public, especially to potential investors for these facilities, local and national information on the following: i. current and potential uses of facilities in relation to solid waste management; ii. inventory of existing facilities; and iii. other relevant information.

Sec. 9. Responsibility of Owner and Operator. - Responsibility for compliance

with the standards promulgated for the establishment and operation of waste treatment facilities shall rest with the owner and/or operator thereof. If, by virtue of a contract, the operator is primarily and solely responsible for compliance with the standards, the same shall not relieve the owner of the requirement to exercise due 28 diligence to ensure the operator's compliance. In the event that the ownership of the facility is transferred to another person, the previous owner shall notify the new owner of the standards and the conditions set for the operation of said facility, and the laws and regulations that the new owner or operator has to comply with. These standards for operation of waste treatment or

processing facility may be made more stringent by not more than five percent (5%): Provided, That the more stringent standards shall be effected ten (10) years following the commencement of the operation of the facility that is established after the effectivity of this Act.

Sec. 10. Grant of Incentives. - The following fiscal and non-fiscal incentives

shall be granted to registered investors and hosts of waste treatment programs: a. Fiscal and Non-Fiscal Incentives. - Upon certification by the DOE, waste-to- energy projects may be granted the incentives provided under Title XIII of Republic Act No. 8424, otherwise known as the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended, and any other applicable laws: Provided, That the inclusion of waste-to-energy projects in the strategic investment priorities plan shall be reviewed and may be extended by the BOI. b. Financial Assistance Program - Government financial institutions such as the Landbank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Government Service Insurance System, and such other government institutions providing financial service shall, in accordance with and to the extent allowed by the enabling provisions of their respective charters or applicable laws, accord high priority in the extension of financial services to individuals, enterprises, or private entities engaged in putting up treatment facilities: Provided, That these institutions shall allocate five percent (5%) of their loan portfolio to waste treatment projects. C. Extension of Grants and Incentives to LGUs - Provinces, cities, and municipalities, the treatment facilities plan of which have been duly approved by the NSWMC for adopting innovative waste treatment programs, may be entitled to receive grants for the purpose of developing their technical capacities toward actively participating in the waste treatment projects. The LGUs that host common treatment facilities shall be entitled to incentives as may be determined by the NSWMC.

Sec. 11. Permits and Licenses. - The procedure for the issuance of permits and

licenses for all kinds of waste-to-energy facilities shall be governed by Republic Act No. 11234, otherwise known as the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop Act, and Republic

1 Act No. 11032, otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient 2 Government Service Delivery Act of 2018.

Sec. 12. Fines and Penalties, - Violations of the provisions of this Act, or the

4 standards or rules and regulations promulgated for treatment facilities shall be fined 5 or penalized under the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 1586, otherwise known 6 as the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System; Republic Act No. 6969, 7 otherwise known as the Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Waste Control 8 Act of 1990; Republic Act No. 8749; Republic Act No. 9003; and Republic Act No. 9 9275, otherwise known as the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004. For waste-to-energy facilities, the penal schemes established under the Philippine Grid Code and Philippine Distribution Code pursuant to RA 9136, shall likewise apply.

Sec. 13. Congressional Oversight Committee. - Upon the effectivity of this Act,

a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee shall be constituted to monitor its implementation by the concerned agencies and LGUs. The Oversight Committee shall be composed of the following: the Chairpersons of the Committee on Ecology and 16 Committee on Energy of the House of Representatives and the Chairpersons of the 17 Committee on Environment and Natural Resources and Committee on Energy of the Senate as co-chairpersons and an additional four (4) members from each House, to 19 be designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate 20 President, respectively.

Sec. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from

22 its effectivity, the DENR and DOE shall jointly promulgate the rules and regulations for 23 the effective implementation of this Act.

Sec. 15. Report to Congress. - The DENR and the DOE shall submit to the

President of the Philippines and to Congress an annual report not later than March 30 of every year following the approval of this Act, which shall include an evaluation of the implementation of this Act, and the appropriate recommendations thereon, and for any improvements or modifications to the policies enunciated herein.

Sec. 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared

invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder thereof not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 17. Redealing Clause. - Section 20 of RA 8749 is hereby repealed. The

¿ pertinent provision of RA 9003, as amended, and all laws, presidential decrees, executive orders, letters of instructions, proclamations or administrative regulations that are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.

Sec. 18. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its

7 publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. Approved,