BAWAL PLASTIC | Speaker Velasco renews push for bill regulating single-use plastics

April 22, 2021 , 02:45 PM

(April 22, 2021) – House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday sounded the alarm over the continued proliferation of single use-plastics that damage the environment, highlighting the need to approve legislation to help address plastic pollution in the country.

Velasco led more than a hundred other lawmakers in authoring the Single-Use Plastics Regulation Act, which remains pending for second reading. It aims to phase out different types of non-compostable single-use plastic within four years in compliance with the guidelines to be developed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“We should be more determined and proactive in eradicating plastic pollution,” said Velasco in a statement marking this year’s Earth Day. “We are racing against time to save our planet. We need to take steps before our land and ocean are overwhelmed with plastic waste and we are deprived of our much-needed food supply and balanced biodiversity.”

More than 300 million tons of plastic are annually produced globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with eight million tons going into oceans.

Dr. Deo Florence Onda, whose group dived into the world’s third deepest point last month, affirmed the observation as they saw plastic debris some 10,045 meters below sea level or more than 30 Taal Volcanoes.

Velasco said plastic pollution in the Philippines was aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. More wastes are produced because of the need for disposable face masks and other personal protective equipment for healthcare workers and other frontline workers.

It accounted for more than 52,000 metric tons of medical waste produced, according to the DENR, which has sought an amendment to the Solid Waste Management Act to address the mounting garbage problem.

According to a 2015 study by the Ocean Conservancy and McKinsey Center for Business and Environment, the Philippines is the third largest plastic consumer in the world next to China and Indonesia. Total plastic waste generated each year in the country is 2.7 million tons or equivalent to around 60,000 16-wheeler trucks.

“Pollution has reached the deepest recesses of nature, which is God’s gift for all of humanity. This is an alarming reality that should serve as a wake-up call for the entire humanity,” said Velasco.

Velasco remained hopeful that his colleagues at the House of Representatives would resume the discussion on the proposed law once the session resumes next month.

If this will be approved, producers and importers of plastic products would have to formulate recovery schemes, conduct clean-up drives, and establish recycling and composting facilities.

Commercial establishments, meanwhile, must promote the use of recyclable and reusable products and charge additional fees for customers who opt to avail of single-use plastics.

Violators would be asked to pay a fine ranging from P50,000 to P1 million, depending on the frequency and gravity of the offense.

(Beatrice Puente/PM)

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