Bacolod City is advancing plans for a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) project, with the potential to generate up to 15 megawatts, as part of efforts to improve its solid waste management system, with support from the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) and the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance.

The proposed energy facility is a critical part of the city’s 10-year Solid Waste Management Plan (2024–2033), developed in partnership with the Department of Energy. The project is designed to convert solid waste into electricity at the Bacolod Integrated Recycling and Technology Hub (BIRTH) in Barangay Felisa. The 25.7-hectare city-owned site being ideal as it is located adjacent to an existing 5-hectare sanitary landfill.

Proponents of the project said the initiative responds to mounting landfill space pressure. Atty. Juliana Carbon, President of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said a waste-to-energy solution is needed given the volume of garbage being generated everyday.

“A Waste-to-Energy solution is really needed considering the bulk of the garbage that we have. Based on their data, one landfill can already be filled up in just a year and six months. We need a new technology for processing waste,” Carbon said.

She added that the approach should go hand in hand with promoting reuse, recycling, and composting practices across the community- to maximize efficiency and waste reduction.

Dionisio Dela Cruz of the Bacolod Anti-Baha Alliance emphasized that waste-to-energy is positioned at the end of the waste management hierarchy and will be utilized only after other waste reduction measures have been implemented.

“This initiative will help the city in reducing our waste, based on what I understand during the meeting, although at first I have some reservations, but after hearing the explanation, I understand that waste-to-energy is last in the hierarchy, after all the processes, from avoidance to composting. I hope it will serve as a message to the community to cooperate in waste management,” Dela Cruz said.

Fr. Julius Espinosa, Director of the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, also expressed support for the program while calling for stronger enforcement of existing solid waste management policies.

“There are already ordinances on single-use plastic; we might as well revisit those ordinances or laws we can implement to effectively reduce the waste,” Espinosa noted.

A resolution formalizing the adoption of the Waste-to-Energy Integration and Implementation Framework has already been drafted and is slated for approval by the city council before submission to the National Solid Waste Management Commission.

As more urban centers grapple with landfill constraints, could waste-to-energy projects emerge as a practical complement to existing waste reduction strategies?

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