The overwhelming volume of plastic wastes has remained a major environmental problem, Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said on Sunday.
Villar made the call amid the celebration of World Environment Day last June 5 with the theme “Ecosystem Restoration.”
Villar cited the need for all sectors to collaborate their efforts to eliminate the plastics waste problem.
“I am looking forward for our country to achieve success in this (campaign) within the decade,” said Villar who will also join on June 8 the Oceans Day celebration led by Cecille Guidote-Alvarez of the Earthsavers UNESCO DREAM Center/Artist for Peace.
According to Villar, plastic wastes in the ocean destroy marine life and the oceans’ ecosystem. “And so, our plastic waste problem is an environmental issue we need to urgently address if we are to help in ecosystem restoration and in the conservation of our oceans.”
The senator cited a 2015 University of Georgia study showing the Philippines was the world’s third largest source of plastic waste leaking into the ocean, next to China and Indonesia.
Villar said she has embarked on recycling plastic wastes and turned these into school chairs.
The Villar SIPAG distributes the schools chairs to various public schools and farm schools nationwide.
The senator is also strongly pushing for the passage of the bill making permanent the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) mechanism as part of the country’s solid waste management system and strategy to reduce the proliferation of single-use plastic.
Senate Bill No. 1331 or the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR)
Act of 2021 authored by Villar, seeks to institutionalize the practice of EPR in waste management. It also amends the 20-year-old Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.
The measure would ensure that the responsibility for the entire life cycle of plastic products rests on the manufacturers. It mandates manufacturers to recover plastic wastes from their products as a mechanism towards achieving an efficient solid waste management.