Group urges BBM to address plastic production

An advocacy group is urging the Marcos Jr. administration to address the plastic production as well as importation of plastic materials in the light of the recent flooding brought by typhoon “Carina” as it also helps the global challenge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The environmental group BAN Toxics said the exponential increase in plastic production is expected to exacerbate the so-called “triple crisis” of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

“It has always been easy to blame trash and the lack of discipline for recent and future flooding, yet the climate impacts of unhampered plastic production, along with land use conversion, large-scale mining, and their contribution to environmental degradation are being overlooked,” the group said in a statement on Thursday.

“The President must realize that 99 percent of all plastics are derived from fossil fuels, the largest contributor to the global climate crisis,” the group said.

“The import of finished plastic products and wastes into the country, combined with the current rate of domestic plastic production and other factors, is overwhelming the capacity of our waste management systems, rendering them ineffective,” Jam Lorenzo, head of BAN Toxics’ Policy Development and Research, said.

In 2021, the Philippines, imported 1.98 million ton of plastic raw materials, plastic products, and plastic packaging with 393 kilo tons export, making it a net importer of plastics, the group said.

The country had a virgin resin production capacity of 900 kilo tons in 2019, with projections of at least an additional 360 kilo tons from 2021 onwards.

“With only 9 percent of consumed plastics being recycled and 33 percent disposed of in landfills, an estimated 35 percent — or about 1 million tons of plastic waste in 2021 —leak into the open environment. This amount is equivalent to the average weight of 714,285 sedan vehicles, more than the total number of registered vehicles in Metro Manila,” the group added.

These figures do not include the import of hazardous plastic wastes, both legal and illegal into the country, as well as the illegal waste imports from developed countries, BAN Toxics said.

“The Extended Producers Responsibility law has so far been failing to compel multinational corporations to take immediate action to phase out single-use plastics, as evidenced by brand waste audits in the country. Many of the companies that topped the list have previously been identified as top plastic polluters in global brand audits,” the group stated.

“We stand with the Filipino people in holding the government accountable for the recent floods and those yet to come, and we call for science-informed and human rights-based climate actions,” it said.