The shift to a circular economy is gaining momentum as several stakeholders convened last week to chart the next phase of the country’s push in addressing plastic pollution.
Members of the Steering Board of the National Plastic Action Partnership (NPAP) Philippines met to map out the strengths, challenges, and opportunities across the plastics value chain and to co-create solutions for a more circular future.
Members stressed the importance of strengthening alignment between national policy and local implementation, recognizing the critical role of local government units in collection, waste worker integration and community-driven innovation.
The discussion underscored the value of NPAP as a multi-sectoral platform supporting policy coherence, gathering of evidence and advancing inclusive solutions.
As significant plastic leakage continues to pose challenges in the Philippines, the NPAP platform plays a key role in aligning national action with existing policies, such as the Extended Producer Responsibility Act and the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
Equally critical is supporting the country’s engagement in global negotiations toward a legally binding agreement on plastic pollution. Partners reflected on the links between national efforts and the Philippines’ upcoming ASEAN Chairmanship in 2026, noting opportunities to elevate circular economy cooperation regionally.
“Our work here has implications beyond our sector as well as beyond our borders. Through the NPAP, we can demonstrate our coordinated, multi-sectoral approach, and translate global commitments into national action and meaningful local impact,” said Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Raphael Lotilla, who is also chair of the NPAP Philippines Steering Board.
“The challenges before us are many, but there is also an opportunity to shape our systems and secure a safer, healthier, more resilient Philippines,” he said.
Edwine Carrie, UNDP Philippines Deputy Resident Representative, stressed the importance of ensuring a just transition, noting that “eliminating or reducing plastic pollution is an environmental imperative.”
“It’s also a strong economic incentive, which comes with very strong collateral health benefits. From the standpoint of UNDP, we see the role of NPAP as important in the issue of just transition: the recognition that plastics still plays a prominent role in the livelihoods of many vulnerable sectors in the Philippines, and that phasing out plastics will bring short-term pain for these communities.”
UNDP Philippines News
“It is therefore important for NPAP to make sure that the focus remains on helping those communities at the local level, making this transition for a better future in the country,” he added.
Steering Board members also reflected on the Roadmap’s system change scenario, which shows that a combination of upstream reduction, reuse, and substitution—paired with improvements in collection, recycling and disposal—could reduce aquatic plastic pollution by up to 93 percent by 2040. UNDP Philippines News
