MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is moving closer to turning mountains of residual garbage into electricity as the Department of Energy accelerates its waste-to-energy program following a renewed push from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
But while the government sees waste-to-energy, or WTE, as a potential answer to two persistent national problems—growing garbage volumes and rising electricity demand—the plan is entering a much more difficult phase: proving that the technology can work commercially without creating another environmental problem.
The DOE said it is pushing WTE projects from the policy stage toward actual construction, with 400 megawatts of proposed installation capacity now targeted under a special round of the government’s Green Energy Auction Program. The target was increased from an earlier 230 MW in an effort to attract more qualified developers and investment.
The auction proper is scheduled for October 13, 2026. Winning projects are expected to reach mechanical completion by the end of 2028 and begin supplying electricity by the end of 2029, according to the DOE.
Garbage Is Becoming an Energy Issue
The renewed push comes as the Marcos administration faces mounting pressure over garbage accumulating in waterways, drainage systems and disposal sites.
Metro Manila alone generates an estimated 9,000 metric tons of municipal solid waste every day, according to figures cited by the Energy Department. The DOE estimates that the capital region’s existing waste stream could potentially support about 200 MW of WTE generation, although actual capacity would depend on the availability and suitability of waste used as feedstock.
Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said waste that can no longer be reused or recycled should not automatically end up in waterways or landfills when some of it could potentially be converted into energy under tightly controlled conditions.
The government argues that properly designed WTE facilities could reduce the volume of residual waste requiring disposal while adding another source of electricity to the country’s power system.
That approach has taken on additional urgency after President Marcos again linked the country’s garbage problem with flooding and called for faster implementation of waste-management technologies. Philstar reported that Marcos said the public could begin seeing progress within roughly one to one-and-a-half years, while emphasizing the need to move faster on the country’s garbage problem.
DOE Says WTE Will Not Replace Recycling
One crucial part of the government’s message is that WTE is not supposed to replace waste reduction, segregation, reuse or recycling.
The DOE says only acceptable residual waste—material that cannot practically be recovered or recycled—should be considered for use in WTE facilities.
Projects must also demonstrate an adequate and sustainable supply of waste, technical and financial capability, commercial viability, environmental compliance and the ability to meet construction deadlines before they can move forward.
Developer interest has already grown significantly. According to the DOE, aggregate proposals have approached the government’s new 400-MW target, but officials stressed that proposed capacity does not automatically guarantee project awards.
The department has also introduced incentives for pioneer waste-to-energy projects through Department Circular No. DC2026-04-0011, issued in April 2026, as the government attempts to encourage early investment in the sector.
Meanwhile, a major private-sector project is already taking shape in Central Luzon. The Bases Conversion and Development Authority announced plans in 2025 for a ₱4-billion large-scale WTE facility in New Clark City, designed to process about 600 metric tons of waste per day and produce up to 12 MW of electricity.
The Environmental Debate Is Far From Settled
The government’s WTE push is also facing strong opposition from environmental and community organizations.
Critics argue that some forms of WTE—particularly facilities that rely on incineration—could create air pollution, toxic ash and greenhouse-gas emissions while weakening incentives to reduce plastic production and increase recycling.
Following Marcos’ renewed push in August, environmental groups questioned whether WTE incineration should be promoted as a solution to flooding at all. The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that environmental and community organizations challenged the policy, arguing that preventing waste from entering waterways should depend primarily on waste reduction, segregation and better collection systems.
Greenpeace Philippines has similarly argued that burning waste, especially plastics, risks replacing one pollution problem with another and has urged authorities to prioritize waste prevention and circular-economy policies.
The DOE, however, says environmental safeguards will be mandatory.
Garin stressed that WTE facilities cannot be allowed to solve one environmental problem while creating another. Projects will have to comply with environmental laws, permitting requirements and emissions standards throughout development and operation.
Congress Is Also Wrestling With the Issue
The debate is unfolding not only inside the Energy Department but also in Congress.
The House of Representatives approved a proposed Waste-to-Energy Act on second reading in May 2026, including provisions requiring proper segregation and resource recovery before waste can be used as WTE feedstock.
By late July, however, corresponding measures in the Senate were still at committee level, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. President Marcos also identified waste-management legislation among the measures he wanted Congress to advance following his 2026 State of the Nation Address.
That legislative debate matters because Philippine environmental laws have long placed restrictions on incineration that produces poisonous or toxic fumes, creating continuing arguments over how modern thermal WTE technologies should be regulated.
What Happens Next Could Decide the Program
The immediate test comes on October 13, 2026, when the government conducts its special WTE auction.
A successful auction could determine which projects receive the commercial framework needed to move toward construction—and whether the government’s ambitious 400-MW target attracts projects capable of actually reaching operation.
Even then, electricity will not arrive immediately.
Under the current DOE timetable, successful facilities would need to achieve mechanical completion by the end of 2028, followed by commercial electricity delivery targeted by the end of 2029.
That leaves the Marcos administration facing a complicated balancing act.
The Philippines needs solutions for overflowing landfills and garbage-clogged waterways. It also needs additional reliable power capacity. Waste-to-energy potentially addresses both.
But whether it becomes a meaningful part of the country’s waste and energy system will depend on something far more difficult than announcing hundreds of megawatts of projects: proving that the facilities are financially viable, environmentally compliant, supplied by genuinely residual waste and capable of delivering electricity on schedule.
And with billions of pesos in potential projects, environmental opposition and a major government auction approaching, the real test of the Philippines’ waste-to-energy experiment may only now be beginning.
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