ONLY 17% OF FIRMS COMPLY WITH PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT
Only 16.55 percent, or 662 out of around 4,000 enterprises registered with the Department of Trade and Industry, have so far submitted their programs for the proper management of plastic packaging waste.
Based on the data of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as of July, 508 of those 662 enterprises are producer responsibility organizations—entities which practice packaging waste recycling—and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
“At this point, we appeal for support from the private sector and partners in disseminating the information about our EPR implementation,” Environment Undersecretary Jonas Leones said during an EPR campaign launching on Aug. 4.
He was referring to the requirement—under Republic Act No. 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act—for enterprises to manage their plastic packaging waste.
Leones said the private sector could help formulate an industry-led roadmap on managing marine litter and establishing a national network to promote recycling.
Industries could also promote EPR sustainability collaboration and support research and development on products that are not environmentally acceptable, he said.
‘Obliged enterprises’
The DENR has partnered with the United Nations Development Programme for a nationwide campaign called “LOOPFORWARD: Linking Opportunities and Partnerships Towards Circular Economy through EPR.”
The department said the campaign would emphasize the relevance of the EPR concept and law, gather insights from stakeholders, and also convene the biggest private firms referred to as “obliged enterprises” under RA 11898.
“We’re expecting more obliged enterprises to submit their programs as they become more aware of the modes of implementation and other activities under the law,” Leones said.
According to Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, the country generates an estimated 61,000 metric tons of solid waste every day.
“We use—as we hear in estimates—more than 163 million plastic sachet packets, 48 million shopping bags, and 45 million thin-film bags a day, 33 percent of which is disposed of in landfills and dumpsites and around 35 percent is actually leaked into the open environment and eventually into our oceans and fields,” Loyzaga said at the launching.
Through the EPR Act, obliged enterprises are required to establish their EPR programs, guided by two goals: reduce nonenvironment-friendly packaging products and introduce recovery programs that will prevent waste from leaking into the environment.
Incentives, penalties
The National Ecology Center will evaluate the proposed EPR programs to see whether these are compliant with the law.
Once approved, the programs will be given an EPR registry number, then endorsed to the National Solid Waste Management Commission and the Environmental Management Bureau office, Leones said.
Companies that will implement effective solid waste management programs are entitled to fiscal incentives—including tax incentives, tax deductions, and tax and duty exemption of donations, legacies and gifts.
But obliged enterprises that fail to register their EPR programs could face penalties of P5 million to P20 million as well as the automatic suspension of their business permits.
The DENR expects that by 2028, enterprises would be able to recover at least 80 percent of their generated waste, Leones said.