Green groups ask Duterte to ban single-use plastics

MANILA, Philippines — Environmental groups called on President Rodrigo Duterte to ban single-use plastics in order to address the waste management problem in the country.

In a letter sent to the Office of the President on Wednesday, the organizations asked Duterte to order the National Solid Waste Commission to immediately release the list of non-environmentally accepted products and packaging (NEAPP).

The implementation of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, which was passed in 2021, still falls short, the groups stressed..

In February, NSWC agreed to include plastic straws and stirrers in the NEAPP list. The resolution, however, has yet to be released.

“It has been two decades; the commission is still to release the NEAPP list. This mandate is long overdue,” the letter read.

The groups recommended the inclusion of the following products in the NEAPP list:

• plastic labo bags
• plastic bags including oxo-degradable plastics
• plastic cutleries: spoon, fork, and knives
• plastic straws
• plastic stirrers
• plastic bottles
• plastic cups and plates
• thin plastic take-out containers
• styrofoam or polystyrene food containers
• sachet, packaging, or products that are multilayered with other materials

While there are pending bills on single-use plastics ban, it would be “almost impossible to pass the law due to slow movement of the bills,” the groups said.

“The current pace of the 18th Congress and the National Solid Waste Management Commission worsens the already alarming state of the plastic crisis in our country. We have to immediately ban single-use plastic to end the plastic pollution,” they said.

They pointed out that plastic is not only a waste management issue but also a climate and health concern. 

The organizations are hoping that the Duterte administration would follow up on its pronouncement to ban single-use plastics. In 2019, Malacañang said that the chief executive floated such idea. 

The groups who sent the letter to Duterte’s office include EcoWaste Coalition, Break Free from Plastic, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Philippines, Health Care Without Harm Southeast Asia, Mother Earth Foundation and Oceana Philippines.