Environmental groups has asked President Duterte to order the immediate release of Non-environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP) that will effectively ban single-use plastics in the Philippines.
Through a letter addressed to Malacañang, leaders of the groups EcoWaste Coalition, Break Free from Plastic, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Philippines, Health Care Without Harm South East Asia, Mother Earth Foundation, and Oceana Philippines urged Duterte to direct the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) to effect the ban on single-use plastic.
“This mandate is two decade long overdue and the Commission only listed plastic soft drink straw and stirrer in February. The plastic pollution crisis should be addressed as urgently as Covid-19 response. The longer we don’t ban single-use plastics, the worse it will get,” Coleen Salamat of EcoWaste Coalition said in a news statement.
The groups listed 10 items that should be included in the ban.
These include plastic “labo” bags, plastic bags including oxo-degradable plastics, plastic cutleries: spoon, fork, and knives, plastic straws, plastic stirrers, plastic bottles plastic cups and plates, thin plastic take-out containers styrofoam or polystyrene food containers, and sachet, packaging, or products that are multilayered with other materials.
They said that plastic is not just a waste management issue but a climate and health concern as well that continues to worsen due to the pandemic.
So far, 95 local governments have issued resolutions urging the NSWMC to release the NEAPP list and include single-use plastics.
“Our oceans are already drowning in plastics. Our existing environmental laws are powerful, it is powerful enough to end the plastic crisis. Still, the implementation falls short. The Commission is composed of 14 national government agencies. RA 9003 was passed 21 years ago but to date, not much has been done to address the perils of plastic pollution,” Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana said.
“We respectfully note that in 2019 during a Cabinet meeting on climate change, a pronouncement was made that the administration will push for a ban on single-use plastics. We are reaching out to the Office of the President as his [President Duterte’s] term comes to an end. To truly address the plastic and climate crisis, we have to stop it at the source. We sincerely hope that the administration will follow through on this promise,” Salamat added.
Image courtesy of BusinessMirror file photo