Single-use plastic ban in Ormoc City successful

CEBU CITY - The Ormoc City Single-use Plastic Products Regulation Ordinance of 2021 (City Ordinance No. 51) resulted in a 71% drop in waste collected during river, lake banks, and coastal cleanups last year, according to Rosilyn Sanchez, Officer-in-charge of the Ormoc City Environment and Natural Resource Office.

Sanchez made the report during the recent Climate Reality Project Philippines’ knowledge exchange session Klima Eskwela: Climate Science, Arts, and Action held at the Ormoc City Hall.

“In 2021, Ormoc City No. 51 was enacted.

Under this ordinance, the sale and use of SUPS (single-use plastics) within Ormoc City is prohibited every time. Selling is only allowed for customers outside of Ormoc City given that the Official Receipt of Sale indicates that the buyer is residing outside of Ormoc City,” Sanchez explained.

She said the following items were declared as prohibited single-use plastics: (1) sando bags with handles made of plastic or plastic composite, including oxo-biodegradable, with less than 15 microns in thickness; (2) stirrers

Ordinance made of plastic or plastic composite (all sizes, thickness, and length); (3) utensils and cutleries made of plastic or plastic composite; (4) plastic roll bags with less than 15 microns in thickness, except oxo-biodegradable and oxo-degradable; (5) cups made of plastic or plastic composite with less than 0.20 mm of thickness; (6) styrofoam cups made of plastic or plastic composite.

Business operators found in violation of this ordinance shall be fined for every act of violation and shall be grounds for revocation of permits issued for its continued operation. In just a year of implementation, the local government saw the number of plastic products recovered from coastal cleanups decline from 10,522 in 2020 to 3,000 in 2021—a testament to the effectiveness of single-use plastic bans.

A new report released by the United Nations Environment Programme revealed that bans on single-use plastics are necessary to complement pricing policies, such as levies and Extended Producer Responsibility schemes.

The session served as a platform for youth leaders to learn more about the latest climate science, national and local climate change action plans, and the interlinkages of climate change and plastic pollution.

Climate Reality Leader Jonathan John Maldupana delivered a presentation on the basics of climate change, specifically how human activities are altering the world’s climate systems and the solutions we have at hand to address it.

Erwin Husmalaga, Information Officer of the Climate Change Commission, presented the various policy frameworks and strategies of the Philippine government to mitigate and address the adverse impacts of climate change while Joseph Pilapil, Project Evaluation Officer of the City Government of Ormoc, discussed the city’s Local Climate Change Action Plan.

“The City of Ormoc as usual ground zero of climate risks is always seeking better solutions to always keep its people safe from disasters. Adapting now is saving lives, saving properties, and saving resources,” Pilapil said during his presentation. (Cebu Examiner)