Parañaque City is banning single-use plastic in all commercial establishments in the area starting in June, following the lead of other cities in Metro Manila.
In an online post, Parañaque’s City Environment and Natural Resources Office announced that the ban will be effective six months after the publication of City Ordinance No. 18-40.
“This is in support of the Manila Bay rehabilitation,” Engineer Teresa Quiogue, supervising environmental management specialist, told ABS-CBN News.
The ban will help prevent single-use plastic from entering Metro Manila’s waterways and reduce the 20 to 30 percent of plastic waste they collect from the city’s residents and business establishments, she said.
“Plastic is a major problem for us because Parañaque is a catch basin. The water (from river tributaries and flooding) coming from other cities passes through our city,” Quiogue said, explaining that the Paranaque River serves as the mouth of Manila Bay.
Any uncollected plastic waste from the waterways end up in Manila Bay, she added.
The city is now preparing for other effects of the single-ban, including the increase in paper bag waste, which should be addressed by their materials recovery facility, Quiogue said.
She said they will be following the example of their neighboring city Muntinlupa, which banned single-use plastic in 2011.
Next month, Quezon City will also be implementing its own single-use plastic ban.
Other cities that have banned or at least restricted single-use plastic in the past are Pasig, Makati, Las Piñas, and Pasay.
Environmental groups have long been calling for a nationwide ban on plastics, especially after the Philippines was listed among the top five plastic polluters in the world.
They have also warned against single-use packaging alternatives such as paper or so-called biodegradable plastic because of their detrimental effects on the environment.