MORE than half of Dabawenyos are willing to consider a proposed waste-to-energy (WTE) facility as part of the city's response to its mounting garbage problem, but concerns over air pollution, waste segregation and the livelihoods of informal waste workers remain despite majority support for the project.
A survey of 1,000 residents across Davao City's three congressional districts found that 64.6 percent supported the proposed facility, while 27.5 percent were neutral and 7.9 percent opposed it, according to an October 2026 survey from the Jose Maria College Foundation Inc. (JMCFI) Research, Innovation and Creative Work Office.
The findings suggest that residents see potential in an additional waste-management option, but the support, according to the survey, does not necessarily mean they have accepted every aspect of the project, including its environmental safeguards, financing, location, and long-term effects.
The survey found that 70 percent of respondents believed the facility could help address the city's solid-waste problem. However, 65 percent expressed concern over air pollution and toxic ash, including 71 percent of those who supported the project.
More than half, or 51 percent, were also concerned about the possible effects on recycling practices and the livelihoods of informal waste pickers who depend on collecting and selling recyclable materials.
The findings come as the city government pursues its proposed WTE facility in Barangay Biao Escuela, Tugbok District, amid continuing discussions over the city's waste-disposal capacity and the environmental implications of burning garbage to generate electricity.
Support comes with conditions
The JMCFI survey indicated that awareness of the proposed facility was associated with higher levels of support.
About 60.6 percent of respondents said they already knew about the proposal before the survey. Support among those aware of the project reached between 82 percent and 83 percent, compared with 45 percent among those who were previously unaware.
Support also varied across age groups, educational attainment and household income.
Among respondents aged 18 to 25, 53 percent supported the facility, compared with 77 percent among those aged 26 to 35.
Support was recorded at 53 percent among senior high school graduates and 78 percent among postgraduate respondents.
Household income also appeared to influence responses. Among households earning less than P15,000 monthly, 57 percent supported the proposal, compared with 80 percent among those earning more than P60,000.
Support across the city's congressional districts was relatively consistent, with 61 percent in District 1, 68 percent in District 2, and 65 percent in District 3.
Despite the majority support, 36 percent of respondents said they feared the facility could encourage people to throw away more garbage or become less motivated to segregate their waste.
Meanwhile, 74 percent wanted strict enforcement of waste-management policies, including the “No Segregation, No Collection” rule. Support for continued enforcement rose to 88 percent among those who favored the WTE project.
The results suggest that residents do not necessarily view the facility as a replacement for household waste segregation. Instead, many appear to expect the city to maintain existing waste-management responsibilities while introducing another treatment option.
The JMCFI press brief cautioned, however, against treating the survey as an unconditional endorsement of the project.
“The results suggest an appetite for a solution to solid-waste pressures, not necessarily a settled judgment about a particular plant design, location, procurement model or operator. The survey measures expressed perceptions, not engineering feasibility, environmental safety or financial viability. Support should therefore be understood as conditional political and social space for deliberation,” the briefer said.
Idis questions environmental and climate implications
Davao-based Environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) has opposed the proposed WTE incineration project, arguing that the city should strengthen waste prevention, segregation, recycling and composting before committing to a facility that burns waste.
In a statement reported on October 7, Idis Executive Director Atty. Mark Peñalver said the city's participation in the Department of Energy's Green Energy Auction Program for a WTE incineration facility risked undermining progress toward a circular economy.
A circular economy aims to keep materials in use for as long as possible through waste prevention, reuse, repair, recycling and recovery, instead of continually consuming resources and disposing of the resulting waste.
Idis warned that relying on incineration could weaken efforts to reduce the amount of garbage generated if the facility creates a continuing demand for combustible waste.
“With waste-to-energy incineration, we are just encouraging people to generate more waste, no, to feed our waste-to-energy facility,” Peñalver said.
The group also questioned the classification of incineration as a green or renewable energy solution, citing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions, toxic pollutants and hazardous residues.
“Persistent and bioaccumulative toxic substances cannot simply be made harmless through regulation or filtration,” Idis stated.
The group argued that emission-control equipment may reduce the release of pollutants but cannot eliminate the need to manage potentially hazardous combustion residues.
Idis instead called on the city to strengthen the implementation of Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, including the establishment and operation of Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs), enforcement of waste segregation rules and support for community recycling organizations.
It also urged the city to clarify responsibilities between barangays and the city government in implementing waste-management programs.
“These are not measures that should simply accompany an incinerator. They are the foundation of a functioning circular waste management system,” Idis said.
The group further emphasized that the city should prioritize reducing waste at its source rather than relying primarily on disposal technology.
“‘Dabawenyo DCplinado,’ if we truly take pride in being disciplined, then that discipline must be reflected in disciplined actions. A disciplined Davao does not burn its way out of a waste problem. A disciplined Davao prevents waste, segregates properly, and takes responsibility for what it produces,” Idis said.
Segregation remains necessary
Davao City Councilor Temujin “Tek” Ocampo, chairperson of the City Council's Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, has maintained that the proposed facility would form part of a broader waste-management strategy rather than replace segregation.
On October 4, Ocampo said the city was targeting completion of the facility by 2028 to 2029, subject to the project's procurement and construction processes and coordination with the Japanese government.
The proposed plant is expected to have a gross generating capacity of approximately 13 megawatts (MW), with about 2 MW allocated for its own operations, leaving an estimated 11 MW for net output.
The city has identified an approximately nine-hectare site in Barangay Biao Escuela, Tugbok District, for the project.
Ocampo said the city was awaiting the Japanese side's handling of the bidding process before construction could begin.
The City Council also approved an P11-million bid bond for the city's planned participation in the Department of Energy's WTE auction mechanism.
According to the same report, the facility is expected to process about 600 tons of waste daily, compared with the city's estimated generation of 700 to 800 tons per day.
Ocampo stressed that the plant would require waste with sufficient calorific value, or energy content, and a relatively dry and combustible composition.
He also said food waste and wet materials should be handled separately, while medical waste must be processed by qualified facilities. Recyclable materials such as paper, cardboard and plastics should be recovered rather than automatically directed to the plant.
The councilor also said the city would coordinate with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to monitor emissions, particularly dioxins and furans, and consider continuous emissions-monitoring systems.
What is waste-to-energy?
Waste-to-energy refers to processes that recover energy from waste. Depending on the technology, this may involve generating electricity or heat through combustion, producing fuel from waste-derived materials, or capturing biogas from the decomposition of organic waste.
The proposed Davao City facility is described as a thermal WTE incineration project. In this process, suitable combustible waste is burned under controlled conditions to produce heat, which can be used to generate steam and drive a turbine connected to an electricity generator.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has noted that uncontrolled waste incineration can release dioxins and other pollutants. It also recognizes that properly controlled incineration technology can substantially reduce emissions, provided facilities operate at appropriate temperatures and use suitable gas-cleaning equipment.
Thermal waste-to-energy facilities are already operating in several countries, including Japan, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore. Their experiences demonstrate that the technology can be incorporated into municipal waste-management systems, although their operating conditions, regulations and waste-management priorities differ.
Japan is one of the countries with an extensive network of waste-incineration facilities, including plants that recover energy. The World Bank's What a Waste 2.0 report describes Japan's comprehensive waste-management system and highlights cooperation between national and local governments in planning, financing and monitoring waste services.
Sweden and Denmark also use waste incineration with energy recovery, including facilities that supply heat to district-heating networks. Singapore operates waste-to-energy plants as part of its integrated waste-management system, alongside recycling and other waste-treatment measures.
However, the presence of WTE facilities in these countries does not automatically establish that the same approach would be suitable for Davao City. JMFCI survey states that differences in waste composition, available land, collection systems, enforcement, financing and environmental regulation can influence a plant's performance.
Waste segregation remains a central issue
Republic Act 9003 establishes a framework for ecological solid-waste management in the Philippines, emphasizing waste avoidance, reduction, reuse, recycling, composting and proper disposal.
Under this approach, waste segregation begins at the source, including households, commercial establishments and institutions. Recyclable materials can be recovered, biodegradable waste can be composted or otherwise processed, and residual waste can be directed to appropriate treatment and disposal facilities.
Transparency and monitoring will shape public trust
The JMCFI survey identified several conditions that could influence whether public support is sustained: disclosure of project costs and financial obligations, independently verifiable emissions and ash-management safeguards, protection of recycling and segregation practices, assistance for informal waste workers, and continuing public participation.
Their survey showed that residents need access to the project's environmental assessments, technical design, expected emissions, monitoring procedures and contingency measures. Public information should also explain how often monitoring results will be released, which agency will verify compliance and what corrective action will be taken if standards are breached.
The proposed facility's ability to process about 600 tons daily should be considered alongside the city's reported waste generation of 700 to 800 tons daily. The amount of waste available for combustion could change as segregation improves, recycling expands or consumption patterns shift. DEF