Duterte may impose ban on consumer plastics

President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines is considering a ban on consumer plastics in an effort to change his country’s status as one of the world’s worst ocean polluters.

Duterte’s spokesman said he was contemplating laws to eliminate single-use plastics, following a summit of southeast Asian nations at which other leaders expressed anxiety at contamination of the marine environment by inorganic waste.

‘‘The president floated the idea to ban the use of plastics, which according to him would require legislative action,’’ said Salvador Panelo.

Four fifths of plastic waste in the Philippines is mismanaged, making it the world’s third worst offender, according to a 2015 report by the University of Georgia. Another survey said that 34 billion plastic bags are thrown away in the Philippines every year.

One of the biggest problems is individual plastic sachets, containing everything from sauces to shampoo, 60 billion of which are used yearly. They are a byproduct of poverty, used by people for whom a large tin of coffee or bottle of detergent is too expensive.

Thrown into rivers in cities such as Manila, the sachets wash into the sea unchecked. Laws on waste disposal are poorly enforced and there is no regulation of packaging. According to the environmental group Gaia, three fifths of nonrecyclable waste in the Philippines comes from 10 international companies, including Nestle, Unilever and Procter & Gamble.

Several legislators have tabled bills to reduce plastic pollution, although none is likely to make it into law without the support of Duterte. – The Times