Taguig students bat for ban on plastic bags, Styrofoam

MANILA, Philippines - Hundreds of students in Taguig have signed a petition asking the city council to pass an ordinance that will control the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam in the city.

Staffers of The Ray, the school paper of the General Ricardo Papa Memorial High School, spearheaded the petition.

Other students who signed the petition are from the Tipas National High School, Taguig National High School, Signal National High School and Bagumbayan National High School.

Ana Marie Calapit, The Ray’s adviser, said the petition signing will run until this month.

She said they adopted the initiative from the students of Los Baños, who campaigned for reducing the use of plastic bags. Their drive was taken up by the residents, and in 2008, the municipal council passed an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam products, Calapit said.

Calapit said improperly disposed plastic bags plug up canals and pollute waterways, and end up in Manila Bay.

“Tropical storm Ondoy, which flooded most of Metro Manila, including Taguig City, exposed city residents to the perils brought about by improper use of plastics, a material that can be recycled. What seem to be a lackluster support for recycling and industry’s failure to educate consumers prompted students to seek a remedy for the city’s pollution woes – ban the use of plastic and Styrofoam altogether,” she said.

The Ray’s staffers are set to launch next year a series of information campaigns about the negative effects of the use of plastics.

Calapit said that this will be followed by the involvement of major suppliers and sources of plastics – supermarkets, malls and retailers – in the campaign.

“We must drum up public awareness to make this campaign effective. Encouraging everyone to use alternatives to plastic bags such as paper bags, fish net bags, katsa bags and bayong is the key to make this successful,” she said.

Taguig City has spearheaded the use of recycled water lily as Christmas baskets and bags that can be used as substitute for shopping bags.        – Rhodina Villanueva