Communities Challenge Smokey Mountain Waste-to-Energy Project

• Residents and advocates in Smokey Mountain, Manila, are opposing a proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) incinerator, citing environmental risks and displacement of informal workers.
• Proponents claim 75–100 MW power generation, but officials confirmed the electricity will go to the grid rather than local communities.
• Critics argue the project threatens the livelihoods of "mangangalakal" (waste pickers) and small junk shop owners who already divert recyclables from landfills.
• The government's classification of WTE as "renewable energy" is being challenged on the grounds that burning waste, much of which is plastic, is not sustainable.

Impact on Local Livelihoods

• Community leaders and residents warn that jobs created by the incinerator will likely require technical skills inaccessible to local urban poor populations.
• MAIA (Manila Anti-Incinerator Alliance) notes that current informal waste sector activities are more economically and environmentally efficient than incineration.
• Studies show that reuse, recycling, and remanufacturing create significantly more jobs—up to 200 times more in the case of reuse—than incineration or landfilling.

Policy and Environmental Concerns

• The Department of Energy cites the Renewable Energy Act to classify waste as renewable, a claim rejected by activists who argue that human-generated waste is not a naturally replenishing resource like solar or wind.
• Skeptics warn that WTE projects require a guaranteed, long-term supply of waste, which incentivizes increased waste production and undermines national waste reduction and zero-waste policies.
• Advocacy groups demand that the government uphold the existing national incineration ban under the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act and Clean Air Act.