Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Maria Antonia Loyzaga said the country faces a deadly challenge, considering that the Philippines produces 2.7 million tons of plastic waste each year
Loyzaga, in a statement, said: “This year’s Earth Day is an urgent call to face a deadly challenge. The theme Planet vs. Plastics aims to spread awareness of the indestructibility of plastics and the hazards they pose to our health, the lives of our ecosystems, and our ability to take effective climate action.”
She said the DENR must make “ every day an Earth Day.”
Loyzaga cited the Philippines’ 2.7 million tons of plastic waste per year, most of which are found in landfills, dumpsites, rivers, and water supply systems. She said 20 percent of such waste ends up in the oceans.
“Over and above our organic waste, plastic for our market needs, food wrapping and packaging for our consumers all make up the 61,000 metric tons of solid waste we produce daily. When the rains come, we are literally swimming them,” she said.
“But on a daily basis, we consume plastics in the fish caught in our seas through the substandard water bottles we use and in the very air we breathe. Microplastics have been found in raindrops and are being studied for their impact on clouds and climate change,” she added.
She said many people are not aware that plastics have traditionally been made from oil, natural gas or coal, the very fossil fuel sources that have driven climate change, and that the are also unaware that studies showed the Philippines loses around $890 million every year “because we throw away recyclable plastics, instead of repurposing it.”
To address the issue, the government passed the Extended Producer Responsibility Act iodine 2022 “to shift the burden of collecting used plastic from the local government to the producers and manufacturers thenselves,” the DENR chief said.
Over 800 big companies have registered and committed to reducing plastic use through the substitution and development of sustainable packaging solutions and collection, treatment and recycling initiatives.
She lamented the government and the corporations cannot do it alone, saying transformation must begin at home.
“Earth Day must be every day. We will fight to win the war of Planet vs Plastics,” she stressed.
Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22.