Environmental groups belittled on Wednesday the announcement of the National Solid Waste Management Council (NSWMC) to include plastic softdrink straw and plastic coffee stirrer on the list of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP).
Green groups, including those representing civil society and academic sectors, said the inclusion of only two single-use items—plastic straws and stirrers in the NEAPP—won’t be enough to address what they described as “mounting plastic pandemic” in the Philippines.
“While this is a much welcome development, considering that this mandate has been sitting for two decades, banning straws and stirrers alone is not enough. Our time is running out, we need to stop the plastic pollution at source. Our oceans are wallowing in plastics. We cannot and should not wait for another 20 years to ban single-use plastics nationwide,” Atty. Gloria Estenzo Ramos, Oceana vice president said in a news statement.
In a position paper, Oceana Philippines International, the local government of Ormoc City, Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines, Ecowaste Coalition and 40 other civil society groups listed a proposed top 10 single-use products for inclusion in the NEAPP.
“With the worsening of the climate crisis, we can’t respond to environmental concerns with the current speed we are doing right now. The turtle-pace formation of the NEAPP list shows the lack of urgency and sincerity of the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] and other members of the commission to actually address the problem. We, the youth – with our future at stake, stand firm in our call to expand and release the NEAPP list now!”, Xian Guevarra of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines said for his part.
The NEAPP determines the products that may soon be banned for manufacturing because of the hazard they pose to human health and environment.
The NEAPP listing of the two products was deliberated through a virtual en banc meeting on Tuesday, February 2, 2021, which was presided by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units (LGUs) Concerns and NSWMC Alternate chairman Benny D. Antiporda.
The NSWMC concluded with 11 votes for approval and three votes for disapproval of the two items.
In a news statement, Antiporda expressed elation that after 20 years RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which took effect in 2021, the NEAPP listing has finally begun. “This is long overdue and we need to catch up with the demand of solid waste management in our country,” Antiporda said.
Although long-delayed, he said, the development is a significant milestone for NSWMC.
“The prohibition on these two single-use plastic items may be small steps in the NEAPP listing, but it is a big leap when it comes to compliance with the provisions of RA 9003,” added Antiporda.
Incidentally, the approval of the NSWMC resolution comes at a perfect time as the world celebrates International Straw Free Day on February 3.
“This global celebration aims to encourage the public to go straw-free and say ‘no straw please’ when ordering drinks,” Antiporda said.
The passage of the resolution came not without strong resistance from some members of the commission, such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the manufacturing and recycling industries.