Cebu City has unwittingly found itself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to addressing its garbage disposal problem. Strangely enough, it doesn’t even have to be in that position, considering a viable solution is staring it in the face.
But then that would be too easy. And easy is boring. Easy is no fun at all. And you know what they all say: “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” And that might explain the stubborn objection to the waste-to-energy (WTE) technology.
Experts — I mean the legit ones, not your neighborhood know-it-all or your grandstanding politician — have regarded WTE as a practical option for managing large volumes of waste. However, they still encourage the public to minimize waste or, better yet, to recycle. That is, if we were living in an ideal world, and we all know how far from ideal the local situation is.
The Environmental Technology Verification Group, Cleaner Production Section, within the Environment & Biotechnology Division of the Department of Science and Technology’s (Dost) Industrial Technology Development Institute, prepared an environmental technology verification report on the New Sky WTE Technology.
Meaning, it did its research.
Based on the test results obtained during the September 2018 monitoring activity of the facility in China that uses New Sky WTE Technology, the team was able to verify that the technology reduces the volume of input waste by over 91 percent by converting it into slag and fly ash. The technology also produces 480.641 kWh of electricity per ton of waste. Air emissions from the facility are compliant with Republic Act (RA) 8749, or the Philippine Clean Air Act. Not only that, but wastewater effluent from the facility also meets the standards set by RA 9275, or the Philippine Clean Water Act.
The report got really technical, but its gist was that the technology basically passed with flying colors.
To those who don’t know, New Sky Energy Philippines has a joint venture with the Cebu City Government to build a P5-billion WTE facility in the mountain barangay of Guba.
Despite assurances from various government agencies regarding the project’s feasibility and safety, affected residents remain skeptical. Actually, “skeptical” is too nice a word to describe the community’s sentiments. “Adamantly defiant” best encapsulates how they truly feel about the project that is intended to benefit ALL the city’s residents.
Dost 7 Science Research Specialist Imee Kassandra Cacho, during the public hearing on Oct. 24, 2025, reiterated that the WTE process is “safe and the way to go,” citing its successful use in Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore.
Health department representatives pointed out that pollution from existing landfills is worse than that of a WTE plant.
I will take their word for it. No argument from me. Because, at the end of the day, they know what they’re talking about. At least, I hope they know. And while I acknowledge the fears of affected residents, I need to ask where and who they are getting their information from.
Because no matter how cynical I’ve become since returning to these shores some three decades ago, I don’t think the government is trying to con them into accepting a technology that would intentionally harm them. And I don’t think it would doctor an environmental technology verification report just so the project would get green-lighted. Oh wait, it already did. Back in 2022, no less.
Mind you, I understand the public’s lack of trust, considering the ghost and substandard projects of the Department of Public Works and Highways that have come to light recently. And I also understand the affected residents questioning why, of all the 80 barangays in the city, theirs was chosen as the site to set up the facility, considering most of the garbage comes from the coastal areas.
I have no answers for that. However, Cebu City can’t afford this stalemate. Time is of the essence here. The clock is ticking. The city’s decades-old garbage crisis and its power deficits are all too real. I hate to say it, but things can only get worse before they can get better.
Perhaps the City can conduct a house-to-house campaign in the barangay to disseminate information. Not only would residents get a grasp of the gravity of the situation, but they might find the answers they’ve been looking for so the project can finally move forward.