Senator Cynthia Villar is calling on all sectors to assist in the implementation of the Extended Producer’s Responsibility Act of 2022 or RA No. 11898 which lapsed into law on July 22, 2022.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment in the 18th Congress, shepherded the passage of this legislation along with her counterpart in the House of Representatives, Rep. Glona Labadlabad.
She said EPR focuses on waste reduction that seeks to lodge environmental responsibility to the producer throughout the lifecycle of a product.
She urged the public especially the organizations fighting for better solid waste management, to see it as an opportunity.
“It is a good start,” Villar said, noting noted that the law introduces the concept of EPR and a circular economy.
The law also mandates the DENR to formulate a national framework on EPR for all types of waste.
The law provides targets on the recovery of plastic wastes initially and requires large enterprises or those above MSME levels to set up an EPR program within six months from the effectiveness of the act.
These programs are intended to achieve plastic neutrality through efficient management of plastic packaging waste, reduced production, importation supply or use of plastic packaging deemed low in reusability, retrievability or recyclability.
It sets rising targets for plastic recovery each year until 2028 when these enterprises are expected to achieve 80 percent neutrality.
“We had to limit the EPR to plastic packaging and to large enterprises for now, which could be viewed as compromises, to be sure,” said Villar.
“But then, it is important to note that the law also requires an EPR framework and an assessment of volumes of other generated wastes that will allow the expansion of the scheme to include wastes with the most problematic components or volumes.”
Villar expresses confidence that a convergence of initiatives among these mandated large enterprises, medium and small scale producers voluntarily joining the program, and households and families who earnestly make an effort to reduce their waste, will make a difference.