Greenpeace urges gov’t to decide on where to dump electronic wastes

MANILA, Philippines - Greenpeace is urging Malacañang to decide on where to dump used electronic products, saying they contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals that cannot be disposed of or recycled properly in the country.

Abigail Aguilar, toxic campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said this problem can be avoided if only the government and producers of electronic products will cooperate.

 She said the Environment Management Bureau, an office under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has been dilly-dallying in deciding where to bring toxic used products like plychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), a toxic waste now dumped at various power plants, includingthe moothballed Sucat Thermal Power Plant.

She said toxic chemicals threaten our rivers and lakes, our air, land, and oceans, and ultimately ourselves and our future. She added that the production, trade, use, and release of many synthetic chemicals is now widely recognised as a global threat to human health and the environment.

 Aguilar said the best solution  is to oblige the manufacturers of these toxic-carrying products to buy out their used products, or ship them to a country where there is an existing waste treatment plant.

At present, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (PSALM) is bidding out the Sucat power plant. It is expected to announce the winning bidder soon. The contenders are Genitron which gave the highest bid, and Globecare which plans to export the toxic wastes generated by the Sucat power plant, including contaminated equipment, to Switzerland.  Globecare  said it is cheaper and safer to export the PCBs instead of treating them at a toxic plant in Bataan, which was completed in 2010, but up to now has yet to operate in full swing.

It added that even  developed countries opted to export them to Switzerland instead of maintaining a treatmenf facility.