LIFE OR death, paper or plastic? Plastic plague, plastic horror, plastic scourge, plastic problem, plastic nightmare, plastic monster. The bad words connected with plastic are so numerous and the havoc it creates in our lives are so “major, major” so why do we still find ourselves asking one another why plastic continues to rule our lives? (Thank you, former Miss Earth Eco-Tourism, 2010 Miss Philippines and Miss Universe runner-up Venus Raj for your unforgettable “major, major.”)
There is even a saying that goes, “Plastic, like diamonds, are forever.” But the saying stops there as, unlike diamonds, they are not a girl’s or the earth’s best friend.
From the rising of the sun to its setting, we are constantly touching or holding something plastic. Just look around you now. How many things can you see that are made of plastic? The arm of the computer chair on which my arms rest as I write this piece is made of hard plastic.
And speaking of chairs and other furniture—and I must announce this now to shame those concerned—there is a chunk of a sofa with plastic upholstery that has been dumped into an open manhole along Mauban Street in Quezon City. It’s been there for several weeks and I was told that that piece of furniture was placed there to prevent students from a nearby school from falling into the hole. Oh, what thoughtfulness indeed on the part of the barangay officials. Because of their creativity, they should be delivered to the likes of hostage-taker Rolando Mendoza.
But the plastic thing we could all do without or have less and less of are plastic bags.
The clamor of environmentalists all over the world to ban or limit the use of plastic bags continues to be aired but despite decades of campaigning, they are still the “major, major” things used for carrying purchased goods.
On this first anniversary of the devastating typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng,” we remember with horror the unprecedented rampaging floods that turned many parts of Luzon and Metro Manila into virtual oceans and wreaked havoc on millions of lives. Mother Nature sent a message to remind us of our long list of sins against her. One of them is our garbage, and a huge bulk of this garbage that clogged the waterways are plastic bags.
Last Monday, environmental, health and justice advocates trooped to the Senate to press the lawmakers to pass a law to control the reckless use and disposal of plastic bags and “to tame the plastic monster.”
The event coincided with the joint hearing called by the Senate committee on trade and commerce, chaired by Sen. Manny Villar, and the committee on environment and natural Resources, chaired by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, to discuss bills filed by Senators Loren Legarda, Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Villar on plastic bags.
Legarda’s SB 1368 is “an act providing for a proactive approach in recycling plastic bags in stores and other retail outlets.” Santiago’s SB 1543 is “an act regulating the use of plastic grocery bags.” Villar’s SB 1103 is “an act promoting sound waste management by requiring all department stores, malls and commercial establishments to utilize reusable environment-friendly shopping bags and provide them free of charge to customers and patrons, and for other purposes.” You can access these bills on the Internet.
Sonia Mendoza of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Task Force on Plastic suggested that Legarda, Santiago and Villar should consolidate their bills into a more encompassing “Ondoy Act for Plastic Pollution Prevention and Reduction” that will “progressively cut the use of plastic bags, with time-specific target for phase-out and eventual ban, and assertively promote ecological alternatives.” Gigie Cruz, also a member of Task Force on Plastics, noted the failure of the past Congresses to adopt essential regulations on plastics.
EcoWaste recently sought out proposals regarding the plastics problem from its partner groups. Proposals came from Buklod Tao, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Kinaiyahan Foundation, Miss Earth Foundation, Mother Earth Foundation, Philippine Earth Justice Center and Zero Waste Philippines.
Here are the top 12 proposals that they want included in the plastics law.
1. Ban the practice of giving free plastic bags to consumers in all commercial establishments.
2. Impose a plastic bag environmental tax or levy.
3. Prohibit the use of plastic bags (i.e., thin-film, single-use plastic bags) as banderitas (fiesta buntings).
4. Phase out and eventually ban plastic sando bags.
5. Bar the importation of plastic bags and other single-use disposables such as polystyrene food and beverage containers.
6. Require commercial establishments to offer reusable alternatives to plastic bags.
7. Direct supermarkets and other retail and wholesale shops to allow their customers to bring and use bayong (native bags) and other substitute containers for goods purchased.
8. Stipulate producer responsibility and accountability, including a mandatory take-back for used bags.
9. Reinforce the prohibition against littering, dumping and burning of plastic waste.
10. Put up livelihood programs in the countryside to support the production of bayong and other reusable bags made of native materials.
11. Provide continuing public education on the health, environmental and climate impacts of plastic bags.
12. Observe and participate in the “International Plastic Bag Free Day” every 3rd of July.
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