Plastic ban in Malay town
BORACAY, Aklan - The municipal government of Malay is set to implement a five- year- old local ordinance out to minimize plastic use this June 15.
The ordinance prohibits the use of plastic bags on dry goods, regulates its use on wet goods and bans the use of styrofoam in the municipality of Malay.
Ma lay municipal administrator Ed Sancho said the implementation of Municipal Ordinance No. 320 series of 2012 would be gradual.
“We will start with the soft implementation first,” said Sancho, adding that it was to inform and educate the public and the business sector about the ordinance.
He said it was needed to prepare the community and the business sector on the impact of the ordinance.
The ordinance, authored by then-vice mayor Wilbec Gileto, and then-SB members Rowen Aguirre and Dante Pagsuguiron, was passed on Oct. 2, 2012.
The ordinance prohibits business establishments and individuals from selling plastic bags and providing plastics as primary packaging materials on dry goods; those dealing with wet goods are also prohibited from using and selling plastic bags as secondary packaging material.
Establishment sand individuals are also prohibited from selling and providing styrofoam and other similar materials as containers for food, produce and other products.
The ordinance also encourages the use of alternative packaging materials such as bags made of biodegradable materials.
Violators will be fined P1,000 for the first offense, P1,500 for the second offense, and P2,500 and imprisonment of not less than one month or more than six months or both for the third offense. Violating business establishments will also face cancellation of their permit to operate for a period of one year.
Sangguniang Bayan member Nenette Graf, who heads the committee on environment, said it was about time the ordinance should be implemented.
Graf said the implementation of the ordinance will help address the increasing garbage problem in Boracay due to its tourism industry.
On the part of the business sector, Dionisio Salme, president of the Boracay Foundation, Inc. said they were supportive of the program, which aims to protect the island’s environment.
However, Salme clarified that enough time should be given to business establishments, especially in Boracay, to abide by the anti-plastic policy.