Environment groups call on government to act vs plastic

MANILA, Philippines – Environment groups have urged the government to decisively act against unrestrained plastic production and consumption and the consequent environmental pollution.

The EcoWaste Coalition, Earth Island Institute, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Greenpeace, Mother Earth Foundation and Nilad asked the Duterte administration to enact a strategy to prevent and reduce plastic garbage from land sources that is finding its way to oceans.

The groups reiterated their call ahead of President Duterte’s first State of the Nation Address next week. They said government should enact a blanket ban on single use plastic bags, among other vital measures, including an extended producer responsibility (EPR) and environmental levy on plastics, following a cleanup drive and waste audit last Saturday at Freedom Island off the coast of Parañaque City.

Some 125 people took part in the event, including Filipinos and visiting environmentalists from Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa from Africa; Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia  and Taiwan from Asia Pacific; Argentina, Brazil and Chile from Latin America; and Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, the UK and US from Europe and North America.

The environmentalists are here for a weeklong meeting to address plastic pollution of the planet and come up with strategies for a sustainable, zero-waste future.

Of the 259 sacks of waste collected (weighing 1,482 kilos), 79 percent were plastic materials, of which 20 percent were junk food wrappers and sachets, 17 percent plastic bags, 12 percent composite packaging, nine percent food packaging, seven percent polystyrene containers, seven percent diaper liners, four percent hard plastics, one percent drinking straw and one percent plastic twine.

“To dramatically cut plastic use and disposal across the country, we urge the government to put the plastic bag ban among its top legislative priorities in the 17th Congress. We expect our lawmakers to cross party lines and stop this ugly plastic pollution that is defiling every corner of our country, including our rich but fragile marine ecosystems,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Our legislators should also consider imposing EPR and environmental levy on plastic bags that will internalize external costs to trim down uncontrolled plastic use and littering, while providing incentives that will enhance shift in attitude and preference in favor of reusable alternatives,” she said.

Froilan Grate, Asia-Pacific coordinator of GAIA, cautioned national and local policymakers against passing measures exempting oxo-degradable plastic bags from the comprehensive ban on disposable plastic bags being sought by ecology groups.

“Oxo-degradable bags, which are also made from petroleum-based polymers, are not exactly climate and environment-friendly. Their proliferation, particularly in cities and municipalities that have adopted plastic bag ban regulations, has only reinforced the throw-away culture that is choking our surroundings with disposables and creating serious environmental and health crisis,” he said.

“Our mounting plastic garbage has likewise become a magnet for waste-to-energy incinerator vendors and other quick-fix pushers who want to take advantage of the weak enforcement of the country’s ban on waste incineration,” he noted.

Numerous studies, including some that were published this year, point to the need for global action to deal with plastic pollution.

The paper “Plastic Debris Is a Human Health Issue” by Dutch researchers A. Dick Vethaak  and Heather A. Leslie stated that “the global threat of highly persistent plastic waste accumulating and fragmenting in the world’s oceans, inland waters and terrestrial environments is becoming increasingly evident.”