The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has mobilized a long-term plan to reduce plastic waste in the country through collaborations with businesses, communities, and advocacy groups.

“The road map for the management of plastic waste was designed to usher the country towards sustainable plastic production, consumption, recycling and disposal,” DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said last Thursday, 20 June, in a seminar organized by the Rotary Club of Makati with P&A Grant Thornton at The Enterprise Center, Makati City.

“We should start by closing the gaps in the plastic waste management system through the circular economy,” he stressed.

The effort to close such gap has been effected through the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act which imposes plastic recycling through the establishment of recycling facilities, use of technologies, and financial incentives to plastic waste collectors, such as community residents and local government units or LGUs.

Extended Producers Responsibility

The EPR is an inclusive measure that shares the responsibility not only with local government units’ waste collectors but also with companies that use plastics, mostly for packaging their products.

Enforced through the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 (EPRA which amended Republic Act 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000, the EPR supports the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and forces companies to promote eco-friendly measures and innovate their products and operations toward these goals.

“This packaging convenience has come at a tremendous cost. Our beaches, rivers, and landscapes bear the price of this pollution, affecting our health and economy. This is the legacy we have inherited but not the legacy we want to pass on,” Leones said.

“Plastics directly impact several SDGs related to climate action, affordable and clean energy, water sanitation, and zero hunger,” he underscored.

Recycling program reports

To ensure recycling compliance, the EPR requires companies to submit reports on the efficiency of their recycling programs. Leones shared that 917 companies and 298 micro, small and medium enterprises have submitted their reports.

In the long-term, the DENR expects more investments in recycling technologies and training programs on recycling among communities by 2034. It also expects more aggressive public campaigns against the use of single-use plastics, such as straws and wrappers by 2040.

According to the World Bank, plastic leakage to oceans and other natural areas leads to companies’ economic loss ranging from $790 to $890 million each year industries.

Plastic deposit machines

To reduce their losses, Rina Neoh, Secretary General of ESG Association of Malaysia and one of the guest speakers at the seminar urges Filipino companies to deploy plastic deposit machines. The public can put their plastic waste into these machines and obtain monetary rewards or coins, she said.

Aside from these machines, Neoh said the Philippine government must continue to provide grants to companies that have started selling eco-friendly products.

“Malaysia has allocated grants to facilitate this transition. Previously, the grant was for exhibition and market development.