Clean-court order

"Order in the court!"

Such impassioned pounding on the gavel against the ugly sight of plastic soda pops.

But a memorandum issued by the Supreme Court is now encouraging all courts and personnel of the judiciary not to use single-use plastics in daily activities and operations.

This applies in all offices in the SC and lower-level courts and their concessionaires.

It should be judicial, granted how single-use plastics (plastic bags, straws, cups, cutlery, plates, and food containers) contribute to environmental degradation, waterway pollution, and marine life destruction.

Just about time we rule, starting in our judiciary premises, to get things in order.

As an alternative, the memo encourages use of sustainable materials, think cloth bags, metal or bamboo straws, reusable cutlery, plates, and food containers.

If plastic products are necessary and unavoidable, they should be reused, recycled, and disposed of properly, in accordance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

The law mandates the adoption of a systematic, comprehensive, and ecological solid waste management program that ensures the protection of public health and the environment.

The law has long mandated guidelines and targets for solid waste avoidance and volume reduction through source reduction and waste minimization measures.