Senator Cynthia Villar has underscored the spirit of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, saying the law as “not a burden, but a call to partnership and cooperation” among its various stakeholders.
“By embracing the EPR and the circular economy, we are ready to pave the way for a more sustainable future,” Villar stressed.
Villar made the remarks in a speech during the EPR campaign launch at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.
Villar cited the theme of the event organized by the DENR as “LOOPFORWARD: Linking Opportunities and Partnerships Towards Circular through EPR.”
Villar exhorted the people to unite in supporting the EPR Act and in advancing a circular economy.
“This law offers a better approach to plastic waste management than merely expecting citizens to segregate and manage it, or leaving the local government units across our more than seven thousand islands to handle overwhelming plastic waste,” Villar said.
She was the main author and sponsor of the EPR Law or Republic Act No. 11898.
Without an EPR system, she considered as «messy and costly” the collection of packaging waste in the country, being archipelagic in nature.
EPR places the responsibility for products squarely on the manufacturers- from creation to disposal.
“Experiences around the world have shown that EPRs have shifted the financial burden of waste management to producers, thereby resulting in reduced public costs for hauling and disposal, decreased waste volumes, and a thriving recycling industry,” Villar noted.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, further stated that obliged enterprises may also set up or contract with a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) to handle the resource recovery of such wastes on their behalf.
The law also provides incentives under the National Internal Revenue Code for obliged enterprises practicing EPR.
Meanwhile, Villar thanked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under Secretary Toni Yulo-Loyzaga for coming up with the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the EPR law since last January, and for initiating this campaign to foster greater compliance with the law.