SAN PABLO CITY, Laguna — Environmental concerns, scientific waste management practices, and the role of governance in protecting natural resources took center stage during a consultation between Friends of the Seven Lakes (FSL) and Alterna Verde Corporation (AVC) held Friday, May 29, at the company’s waste-to-energy (WtE) facility in Sitio Baloc, Barangay San Ignacio, this city.

The meeting brought together members of FSL and officials of AVC to discuss concerns surrounding the facility’s location and its potential environmental impact, particularly on San Pablo City’s watershed and groundwater systems.

Leading the discussion for FSL, president Bobby Azores said the group’s primary concern is the location of the facility, noting that it sits within the city’s watershed area and that accidental leachate seepage could potentially contaminate the aquifer supplying groundwater.

Leachate, a liquid produced when water filters through waste materials, has long been considered a major environmental concern in waste management because of its potential to carry pollutants into soil and groundwater if containment systems fail.

Responding to the concern, Dr. Nervy Santiago, chief executive officer of Alterna Verde Corporation, explained that the facility is situated approximately two kilometers away from the tip of the Malabanban watershed and that the watershed area stands around 108 meters higher than the AVC site.

Dr. Santiago said these geographical and elevation characteristics are significant in understanding the movement of water and possible contaminants.

Hydrological principles generally indicate that both surface water and groundwater move from higher elevations toward lower areas, following natural hydraulic gradients. Given the higher elevation of the Malabanban watershed relative to the AVC facility, contamination originating from the lower site would not ordinarily migrate uphill toward the watershed divide under normal geological conditions and functioning containment systems.

Still, Dr. Santiago emphasized that environmental protection requires continuous study and monitoring.

He explained that Alterna Verde continues to invest in scientific studies, groundwater modeling, and technical evaluations to ensure environmental safety and improve waste management technologies.

“There is no perfect technology,” Santiago said, while stressing that the company is not stopping its research efforts and continues funding scientists and researchers to further improve and refine waste-to-energy systems.

Alterna Verde operates a Sustainable Environmental Resource Re-Genesis System, or SERRS, that uses bio-methanation and anaerobic digestion to process biodegradable waste.

Instead of burning garbage, the technology processes segregated organic waste such as food scraps and biodegradable materials inside oxygen-free chambers where naturally occurring microorganisms break down the material and generate methane-rich biogas.

The captured methane, also called renewable natural gas, is then converted into energy that can help power facility operations and other energy applications. The process also produces digestate or organic soil conditioner, supporting agricultural and environmental sustainability.

Santiago said the technology is designed to reduce landfill dependence while preventing methane, a potent greenhouse gas, from escaping directly into the atmosphere, thereby minimizing the risk of landfill fires and landfill slope failure or collapse.

Santiago added that if San Pablo City is able to identify and implement other effective waste management solutions, they are prepared to step aside. “If San Pablo can find other effective waste management solutions, we are ready to pack and go,” he said.

Monsignor Jerry Bitoon, meanwhile, reiterated that FSL is not singling out Alterna Verde in its environmental advocacy. He acknowledged that AVC is employing scientific and technical approaches in waste management but stressed that environmental scrutiny should also cover unregulated and fly-by-night garbage dumpsites operating outside proper standards.

Bitoon likewise underscored what he described as the need to guard against “morally toxic people in government” whose actions may contribute to irregularities and corruption involving environmental protection and waste management.

He said accountability in governance remains essential alongside technological safeguards. He stressed that public officials involved in waste management must remain under close scrutiny to prevent any attempt to profit from environmental programs or related public funds. This includes vigilance from civic and faith-based groups such as the San Pablo Ayaw sa Korapsyon (SAPAK) movement, a local civil society coalition in San Pablo City advocating transparency and opposing systemic corruption and questionable public sector practices.

Bitoon also proposed the establishment of a multi-stakeholder forum involving relevant government agencies, technical experts, and concerned institutions to systematically address waste management challenges and develop a more coordinated and evidence-based framework for environmental protection and governance.

The consultation was attended by Jacie Gatchalian, Boying Aliazas, Guillermo Paz, Pastor Milagros Barleta, and other members of Friends of the Seven Lakes, including Azores and Bitoon, a retired senior clergy.

Also present were Dong Fullo and Mary Ann Buncayo Torres of the San Pablo Public Forum.

The consultation ended with continued exchanges between community advocates and facility officials, reflecting both concern for San Pablo’s fragile environmental resources and the need for sustained dialogue on science-based waste management solutions.

Alterna Verde Corporation and the Friends of the Seven Lakes are not sponsors of this publication. This report is published on Tutubi News Magazine’s own initiative as part of its independent editorial coverage and environmental advocacy for responsible environmental protection and governance.