MANILA, Philippines — Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga yesterday admitted that the country is not winning the war against single-use plastics as the daily waste generation increased to 61,000 metric tons from only 16,000 MT in 2016.
“We are not winning the war definitely against single-use plastics,” said Yulo-Loyzaga at a press conference during the celebration of World Environment Day.
Based on the latest DENR-Environmental Management Bureau data, at least 12 percent or 7,090 MT of the total garbage being produced every day are plastic waste.
“It is really difficult to find replacement because of the durability of single-use plastics and the cost… This is about investment in chemistry. We need to do the research to identify the proper product that will replace the single-use plastics. If we were not going to do that, we will not be able to wipe it out,” Yulo-Loyzaga said.
She added that the challenge of finding a replacement for single-use plastics should not only be left to academe and the government, but should also involve producers.
“We need to be doing our research but certainly the producers, those that are using the plastic products, they need to be responsible for finding a sustainable replacement,” she noted.
According to Yulo-Loyzaga, the government should address the social issue on the use of single-use plastics.
“The single-use plastic issue is not a single dimensional issue. It has a social issue attached to it. If we cannot address the social issue, we will not be able to address the use of single use plastics,” she said.
For his part, DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said the volume of garbage generated daily will further increase if measures will not be undertaken.
“Definitely, if we will not be addressing it now, if there will be no solid waste segregation and the unabated dumping of garbage will persist,” Leones said.
Yulo-Loyzaga said the DENR targets at least 1,000 enterprises to be able to register their respective extended producer responsibility programs as mandated by Republic Act 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022.
“So far, we have counted 4,000 obliged enterprises. Unfortunately, we only have 600 (firms) that actually registered,” she said.
Yulo-Loyzaga led tree planting activities as part of the celebration of World Environment Day yesterday.