By CESAR JOLITO III

Environmental group Negrosanon Initiative for Climate and the Environment (NICE) has welcomed Bacolod City’s move to hold a public consultation on integrating waste-to-energy (WTE) into its long-term solid waste management plan, while reiterating the need for safer and non-harmful technologies.

The consultation forms part of the city government’s 10-year solid waste management roadmap for 2024 to 2033, which aims to address persistent garbage challenges through innovative solutions, including energy recovery from waste.

NICE Secretary General Joshua Villalobos commended the city government for opening the discussion to stakeholders but clarified that the group’s support for WTE is conditional.

Villalobos stressed that NICE opposes thermal WTE technologies, citing risks to public health, the environment and potential disruption of proper waste management practices.

“We are not against waste-to-energy technologies in general, but we are concerned about those that involve thermal processes,” Villalobos said, urging the city to adopt only technologies with clear regulatory frameworks and aligned with global environmental health standards.

The group also emphasized the importance of strengthening integrated waste management systems, particularly waste segregation at the source, as a key component in reducing landfill dependency.

For his part, Bacolod Mayor Greg Gasataya assured stakeholders that all feedback gathered during the consultation would be carefully considered in crafting the city’s waste management strategies.

“We assure you that our ears and eyes are open to listen to all your suggestions,” Gasataya said.

The consultation gathered representatives from the city’s Solid Waste Management Board, barangay officials, private sector stakeholders, and national government agencies, including the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Science and Technology, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Department of Education, alongside civil society groups.

The WTE initiative is part of the proposed Bacolod Integrated Recycling Technology Hub (BIRTH Ecopark), a planned 25.7-hectare facility in Barangay Felisa, near the city’s existing sanitary landfill.

The project, backed by a memorandum of agreement signed in January 2026 between the city government and DOE, is envisioned to incorporate a materials recovery facility and a WTE component under a public-private partnership scheme./CJ, WDJ