Dumaguete city: Environmental groups on Tuesday called on the new set of city council members of this Negros Oriental capital city to shut down the pyrolysis incinerator amid a 'looming public health crisis.' During a press conference here, the groups presented a report on the findings of a study on the dangers of the pyrolysis incinerator at the city's central Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
According to Philippines News Agency, the community-led air quality monitoring study showed 'dangerously high levels of air pollution,' which the groups said originated from the pyrolysis incinerator located at the MRF in the outskirts of Barangay Candauay. Pyrolysis is the process of thermal decomposition that breaks down organic materials at high temperatures in the absence of oxygen. This method is used to convert materials into gaseous, liquid, and solid components, which can then be used as fuel or further processed.
Dr. Jorge Emmanuel, an international expert who has worked with several global organizations on environmental concerns, during his presentation highlighted the need for an immediate stoppage of the pyrolysis gasification machine as thousands of residents in Dumaguete and some parts of the nearby towns of Valencia and Sibulan are at risk from harmful toxins. These toxic pollutants from incinerators include dioxins, heavy metals, acid gases, and semi-volatile organic compounds.
'Although we could not measure other pollutants because of the cost, in every test I conducted of pyrolysis, gasification, and other incineration technologies, these other toxic pollutants were also always present,' Emmanuel said. He explained that a study showed dangerously high levels of particulate matter (PM) from the pyrolysis incinerator, which operates at least 9 hours each day.
The pyrolysis machine has been in operation since 2022 and burns waste from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., five days a week. Emmanuel, a former United Nations Chief Technical Advisor on the environment, led the researchers who used the AirBeam3, a portable air monitoring technology provided by GAIA (Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives). Seventeen community volunteers wore the devices around their necks for 9 to 10 days each between October 2024 and February 2025, he said.
During that period, research data showed that PM 2.5 concentrations exceeded the World Health Organization (WHO) 24-hour air quality guideline in 88 percent of monitoring days. PM 2.5 - microscopic particles from the burning of waste - are dangerous pollutants that could result in severe asthma, lung disease, cardiovascular illness, and premature death. Many of these pollutants are invisible, odorless, and persist in the environment for many years, with health effects that may not surface until much later.
Merci Ferrer of WOW (War on Waste) - Negros Oriental, said 'the surrounding community (of the MRF facility) has been complaining of constant coughs and fatigue, and the report confirms those experiences with hard data.' Ferrer is urging more barangays in the city to engage in Zero Waste practices, such as the establishment of MRFs and educating households to undertake garbage segregation at source.
So far, Barangays Looc, Bantayan, Piapi, Banilad, and Calindagan have already adopted the Zero Waste program, she said. Environmental groups that presented the report titled 'Dangerous Particulate Matter from the Pyrolysis Incinerator at the Central MRF in Dumaguete,' include the WOW - Negros Oriental, in partnership with the GAIA and the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
They will present it formally to the new set of city councilors to call for 'the immediate shutdown of the pyrolysis incinerator and the full enforcement of environmental and public health laws. Emmanuel said they learned that a second pyrolysis machine is being eyed in the city to cope with the volume of waste being brought to the central MRF. The environmental groups are calling on the new city administration to expand the Zero Waste program to all 30 barangays.
