BANNING SINGLE-USE PLASTIC IS POSSIBLE
MARIJA KARA TRINIDAD
Ihave always thought of myself as a planeteer and I did everything I thought was enough to make the planet a better place to live-in. Up until I saw the episode of GMA’s Reporter’s
Notebook featuring Iligan City’s landfill in Brgy. Bonbonon. I saw the episode in 2017.
I couldn’t sleep and was having anxiety at the thought that my children will be inheriting this planet which we have abused so much. This planet will one day be uninhabitable because of our indiscriminate use of disposables and of its resources. I knew I had to do something. I do not work for the government, I am still earning a law degree, and I do not have any connections with whoever. I am just a freelancer, a student, and a mother of two. But that did not stop me.
We look at a plastic container and we don’t really realize the impact it has on our future, unless we go out of our comfort zones — when we realize where all our garbage goes and see the amount of people scouring through our waste just to eat or earn a few hundred pesos. We are so self-entitled that we think other people need to clean up after us and our own waste. This ordinance requires a great deal out of us as a people; especially when we have gotten so used to the way we live and we block any and all opportunity to change because we think it will only inconvenience us.
So, the past two years have been an uphill battle. I spoke to too many people trying to spread awareness and trying to make an impact. Let’s just say I probably just made a small dent. I started with sharing presentations from Save PH Seas’ Strawless Campaign to business owners and some individuals who gave me the time of day. After talking to a dozen people or so and depleting my resources visiting them, I finally realized that I would make a bigger impact if I lobbied my plans to the LGU.
I drafted the Plastic Ban Ordinance (I had no idea how to make an ordinance) and presented it to government leaders. I went through a few bumps and turns, shed a lot of tears, almost failed my law subjects, got utterly frustrated and disgusted at how our government works, and had a lot of moments of just wanting to
give up. But having a great support system always made me want to push harder. And push harder, I did.
Finally, the ordinance was approved a year after its very first public hearing. Iligan City’s comprehensive plastic ban prohibits the use of all single-use plastics (plastic straws, cutlery, cups, plates, cellophane bags, and Styrofoam) on wet and dry goods. There are already several plastic ban ordinances all over the Philippines but these prohibitions are usually for dry goods only.
So how is this all possible? How do we expect to succeed in strictly implementing this ordinance when it will require a change of habit, mindset, and probably even a culture- our throwaway culture?
Anything is possible. This is perhaps the most overused adage in the world but it doesn’t make it incorrect. The zerowaste movement has made it possible for us to go back to basics. The concept of zero-waste may seem relatively new but it has been existing for a long time. With our mothers, fathers,
lolos, and lolas who would choose to keep things rather than throw them away. The people we call “hoarders” because they choose to keep the bag that Juan may want to use when he’s older or the lamp that still works but just needs to be fixed. We can also donate and sell these but the point is, there are a lot of alternative things to do with our stuff than immediately resorting to throwing these away and contributing to the garbage in our landfills. Landfills. Who had the brilliant idea of putting our waste in landfills anyway?
We also need to redefine what it means to be content, live sustainably, and rethink our purchases. We need to ask ourselves “do we really need to buy a new set of plates, or new toys, or do we really not have anything else to wear even when our closets are full?” This all correlates to the idea as to why it is possible to ban single-use plastics and other disposables. If we keep telling ourselves and really feel the impacts of climate change and if we really fully understand the words when we say we love our family, then we should do something to make sure that we can give our children better tomorrows. A tomorrow where they can breathe clean air, drink clean water, and not live in fear that if all the ice melts, the Philippines will be partially submerged in water.
As simple as a plastic container multiplied by a billion other plastic containers is as dangerous as cholera, dengue, cancer, or any other disease we would dread having. Because at the rate we are going, we could be eating more plastic than real food very soon.
I do not want to be so grim but we need to be afraid. This fear can be a positive thing. And it could be one of the driving forces to lead people to believe that they can make it possible to live plastic-free. But we can also feel hope that despite how human activities have depleted our planet’s natural resources and destroyed majority of wildlife, we can still do something about it today.
But we need to act now.
Marija Kara Echavez-Trinidad is an eco-activist in Iligan City. She advocated for a comprehensive plastic ban ordinance that prohibits the use of all single-use plastis (plastic straws, cutlery, cups, plates, cellophane bags, and Styrofoam) on wet and dry goods.