President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday said that science is needed to address plastic pollution, which has become a global concern.

In his remarks, Marcos emphasized that plastic pollution has become “emblematic” of the “new era of challenges.”

“Global in scale, persistent in impact, and deeply entangled with the way economies grow, [plastic pollution] affects biodiversity, public health, supply chains, the lives of our coastal and urban communities,” he said.

“Addressing it requires going beyond regulation and advocacy. It requires technology that is credible, scalable, and grounded in rigorous science,” he added.

Championing NUTEC Plastics Initiative

Marcos also highlighted the Philippines’ promotion of the NUTEC Plastics Initiative introduced by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

“NUTEC Plastics embodies the kind of innovation that we need — solutions that merge advanced nuclear applications with environmental protection, to translate scientific progress into tangible benefits for industry and for society,” he said.

He also noted the cooperation of Philippine agencies in contributing solutions to plastic pollution.

“Under the Post-Radiation Reactive Extrusion of Plastic Wastes Project, or PREx, the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology, together with the Industrial Technology Development Institute and its industry partner, Envirotech, has developed a breakthrough process that transforms low-value plastic wastes into durable, commercially viable materials,” Marcos said.

“The PREx Prototype House stands today as a tangible output of this initiative,” he added.

With this, Marcos said radiation technology demonstrated a breakthrough in a potential circular economy wherein polymer properties can be enhanced, material degradation will be reduced, and new industrial uses for plastic will be discovered.

“This is how innovation reshapes a sector — by converting to what we once called ‘waste’ into new value,” he said.

The University of the Philippines–Marine Science Institute, meanwhile, has equipped Filipino researchers with tools to quantify microplastic pollution with scientific precision.