Waste-to-fuel: A paradigm shift

By Charlie V. Manalo

February 6, 2024 90

THE search for a single solution to the twin problems of runaway waste and expensive energy has given birth to the term waste-to-energy, or WTE, which is nowadays immediately imagined as burning trash to run power generators.

But as WTE emerges as a risk, not a solution, one aspect of it that could set off a paradigm shift in cheap but reliable energy is being relegated to the background instead of being given the attention it deserves — waste-to-fuel.

Nowadays, WTE also means solid fuels produced from waste. These include RDF, liquid fuels like SAF, and biodiesel like bio-CNG and H2.

Let's separate the grain from the chaff. The most common understanding of WTE is burning garbage and using the heat it generates to produce electricity. It's a most dangerous process.

Let's coin the term WtF instead — turning wastes into fuel.

A bill is already pending in the Senate that would institutionalize WTE. It, however, overlooks WtF, which evidence suggests is a much safer, cleaner way to convert garbage dumps into a repository of fuel sources.

Jump-starting the industry, however, would take more than just a law. Instead, it requires an entirely different system, one that would spur a paradigm shift in mindsets and ways of life. In short, a game changer.

The law must straighten the maze of bureaucracy that involves at least three government departments — the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Energy (DoE), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The DENR is there because the system involves waste and the WtF industry's impact on the environment in the process of turning wastes into fuel for power generation.

The DoE is involved because the system is centered on the industry's main product — electricity.

The DILG is in the loop, too, because it is supposed to oversee the waste management operations of local governments from where the raw material for fuel, garbage, will emanate.

Let's go back to WTE in its most basic form.

Most countries the size of the Philippines and smaller within the region have had various stages of WTE systems.

There are enough lessons to be learned from other countries with more advanced experience with WTE, so let's learn from them.

But WTE, or the direct use of burning trash to feed power generators, is laden with complexities other than that it could escalate the amount of poison that we are already breathing in our air.

Scientific evidence would suggest that directly feeding power generators with burning trash will not solve runaway waste and expensive energy. Instead, it will just add a bigger problem—toxicity.

Preference for WtF would help address this main concern about WTE and the process it takes to turn waste into energy.

But to plant the seeds for WtF, there should be a good rationale for those who would dig deep into their pockets to invest in the industry.

It would take more than tax breaks or holidays to entice investments into WtF, an entirely new enterprise that will take years to mature.

In many countries, using waste as fuel for energy has won government guarantees because, like a newborn child, the industry would need steady hands to keep its first steps steady.

Investors and local governments that would oversee the management of waste would benefit greatly from clear pricing formulas.

The experience of India and Thailand, among several countries with working WtF industries, can serve as lesson plans.

Legislation-wise, the Philippines has already taken the first step in a potentially game-changing WtF industry through the National Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

But implementing the law has proven to be a daunting, often impossible, task.

Local governments cannot catch up with the requirement to build waste management infrastructure because of lack or the sheer absence of funds.

Even if waste management becomes efficient, the question lingers — is it safe to burn trash for energy?

Evidence and data from WTE experience elsewhere show otherwise.

This uncertainty over the risks that WTE carries is further complicated by the bureaucratic maze that is being proposed for the industry.

The DENR will be in charge of monitoring waste management compliance, the DoE for energy regulation, and the DILG for local waste collection and disposal

Imagine yourself to be an investor planning to venture into WTE, as risky as it is. Imagine the days, weeks, months or even years you will spend just obtaining permits.

Those serious enough to take a close look at WTE are likely to sigh and exclaim: WTF!