DENR ‘communicators’ undergo training on EPR Act
THE “communicators” of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have undergone extra training on Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act to help them cascade accurate information about the law to various stakeholders.
More than 50 members of the DENR Speaker’s Bureau availed the three-day refresher course recently conducted by the Department in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
These “communicators” are responsible for the dissemination of information and promoting compliance with Republic Act 11898 or EPR Act of 2022.
EPR law requires large companies to adopt and implement policies for the proper management of plastic packaging wastes.
Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Antonia Loyzaga last January, led the crafting and issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 11898 after it lapsed into law on July 23, 2022.
The EPR Speakers Bureau Training held from March 29 to 31 in Quezon City was the first of a series of training organized by the DENR to equip its concerned workers with the proper knowledge and skills to effectively spread information about the EPR law.
During the training, the participants gained a comprehensive understanding of the EPR Act provisions, including the functions of every stakeholder and the vital role of EPR in sustainable development, circular economy, climate change and biodiversity.
Those who successfully completed the training will be in the frontline of information on the EPR law across the regions, and will serve as resource speakers on upcoming training sessions for stakeholders from the private sector, local government units, and waste diversion organizations.
DENR Assistant Secretary for Field Operations and concurrent EMB Director Gilbert Gonzales expressed hope the members of the EPR Speakers Bureau will be able to effectively disseminate the important provisions and necessary activities and programs under the law in order to ensure that its objectives are achieved.
“We are very glad that finally we are able to start somehow the important activities that we need to undertake under the EPR implementation. One of these is this preparation and training of our future messengers of information related to EPR,” Gonzales said.
