DENR: Everyone must help protect planet from plastic pollutants
DEPARTMENT of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-loyzaga on Monday appealed to everyone to do their share in helping address the perennial problem on plastics, as this that continuously causes harm to people and the environment while hampering the fight against global warming.
“This year’s Earth Day is an urgent call to face a deadly challenge. The theme Planet vs. Plastics aims to spread awareness of the indestructibility of plastics and the hazards they pose to our health, the lives of our ecosystems, and our ability to take effective climate action,” she said in her message sent to the media for the Earth Day 2024 celebration on April 22.
Citing the World Bank’s Market Study for the Philippines: Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers in 2021, she said the Philippines annually generates a staggering 2.7 million tons of plastic waste. While most of it ends up in landfills, dumpsites, rivers and water supply systems, about 20 percent go to oceans.
The report also revealed that plastic for market needs, food wrapping, and packaging for consumers account for 61,000 metric tons of solid waste that are produced daily. Consumers ingest plastics everyday from the fish caught in the seas, the use of substandard water bottles and the very air they breathe. Microplastics have been found in raindrops and are being studied for their effect on clouds and climate change.
“Many are unaware that plastics have traditionally been made from oil, natural gas, or coal, the very fossil fuel sources that have driven climate change. They are also unaware that studies have shown the Philippines loses around $890 million every year because we throw away recyclable plastic instead of repurposing it,” Loyzaga noted.
The government passed the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 or the EPR Law which, according to her, shifted the burden of collecting used
plastic from the local government to the producers and manufacturers themselves.
More than 800 large-scale companies have registered and committed to mitigate their use of plastic by substituting and developing sustainable packaging solutions, as well as implementing collection, treatment and recycling programs. Also, they have committed themselves to education and raising awareness on the environmental impact of plastic pollution.
While this and other initiatives are in place, the DENR chief pointed out that the battle against plastic pollutants can’t be done only by the government and the corporations.
She underscored that “transformation towards a plastics-free world begins at home,” as experts and academic institutions ought to “also do their share.”
For her, “sustainable and affordable alternatives” need to be developed together “with changes in production and consumption.”
The solid waste management may be considered an informal industry in developing countries like the Philippines, but the environment secretary pointed out that the welfare of waste workers should be included in a “just transition that leaves no one behind.”
“Together, we can win this battle of planet vs. plastics. Every step we take counts, and we will need to work as one. It is our choice to act today or let our plastic waste determine our tomorrow,” she said. “Earth Day must be every day.