Press Release
February 11, 2020

'Reduce, reuse, recycle' a failure says Gatchalian; pushes for Waste-to-Energy technology

Senator Win Gatchalian expresses dismay over a report by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that only 30% percent of barangays nationwide, or an estimated 12,614 out of 42,045, are practicing segregation, emphasizing that the waste heirarchy of 'reduce, reuse, recycle' (3Rs) is a failure.

"The 3Rs is a failure, yung reuse, reduce, recycle because only 30% of the barangays conduct 3Rs, 70% ay tinatapon lang sa kung saan-saan," stresses Gatchalian.

The Chairman of the Committee on Energy at the Senate calls out the DENR to failing to fully implement the Solid Waste Management Act with 331 illegal dumpsites still operational in the country. Part of the DENR's mandate is to close illegal dumpsites.

The Senator believes that it is now the time for the government to consider the adoption of Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facilities in the treatment and disposal of solid waste.

Gatchalian's Senate Bill No. 363 or the Waste-to-Energy Act (WTE Act) seeks to provide a framework for the entire value chain of WTE facilities, and, in turn, ensure the uninterrupted supply of waste as feedstock.

Gatchalian believes that the immediate passage of the WTE Act will not only encourage the development of new technologies in the treatment and disposal of solid waste, it also supports the expansion of bioenergy to attain sustainable energy.

Meanwhile, Gatchalian has pressed the DENR, DOE, and the Department of Science and technology (DOST) to come up with their own collaborative study to look at the capacity, potential for energy and environmental concerns for them to have some preliminary idea on how energy can solve our solid waste issues in the country.

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Reduce, reuse, recycle' hindi epektibo ayon kay Gatchalian; Waste-to-Energy technology isinulong

Sa kabila ng lumalalang problema sa basura sa bansa, tanging 30% ng mga baranggay sa buong Pilipinas, o 12,614 sa 42,045 na mga baranggay, ang nagpapatupad ng 'segregation'.

Dahil dito, nagpahayag ng pagkadismaya si Senador Win Gatchalian dahil hindi epektibo ang pinaiiral na 'reduce, reuse, recycle' (3Rs) waste hierarchy upang lutasin ang problema sa basura na kinahaharap ng ating bansa.

"Nakakadismaya na pumalpak ang implementasyon sa bansa ng '3Rs' dahil galing na mismo sa DENR na 70% ng mga basura sa buong Pilipinas ay tinatapon lang kung saan-saan," ayon kay Gatchalian.

Tinawag ni Gatchalian ang pansin ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) dahil sa patuloy na operasyon ng higit tatlong daan (331) pang mga ilegal na dumpsite na hanggang ngayon ay nag-o-operate pa rin. Ayon sa Senador, ang patuloy na operasyon ng illegal dumpsites ay labag sa Solid Waste Management Act.

Sinabi ni Gatchalian napapanahon na para i-konsidera ng gobyerno ang Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facilities para tugunan ang problema sa basura. Kaya sa Senado, mariing isinusulong ni Gatchalian ang agarang pagpasa ng Waste-to-Energy Act para mapakinabangan bilang enerhiya ang sangkatutak na mga basura na itinatambak lang kung saan saan.

Hinihintay na lamang ni Gatchalian ang pagsusumite ng DENR, Department of Energy (DOE), at Department of Science and Technology (DOST) ng isang 'collaborative study'

para sa mga potensiyal na enerhiya at ilang mga isyung pang kapaligiran para mabigyang solusyon ang pamamahala ng wastong pagtatapon ng basura sa bansa.

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