Tondo barangays mulling plastic bag ban

MANILA, Philippines - Several barangays in Tondo, Manila are planning to pass an ordinance banning the use of plastic bags, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino said yesterday.

Tolentino said he held a dialogue with Tondo’s barangay chairmen last week, during the second leg of the MMDA’s waterway cleanup project, Estero Blitz.

“Their cooperation is good. They will push an ordinance,” he said over radio station dzBB.

Tolentino said he also talked to the manager of Pritil market to ban the use of plastic bags.

He also said the MMDA has collected 192 truckloads of garbage from the different waterways in Metro Manila during the cleanup’s first week.

This year’s Estero Blitz aims to dredge and declog nine canals, five creeks, and two rivers in the cities of Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.