Plastic pollution
THE House of Representatives has passed on third and final reading a proposed legislation that reflects the concern over the worsening problem of plastic pollution in the country.
House Bill (HB) 9147, whose principal authors include Speaker Lord Allan Velasco, seeks to ban single-use plastics to better address pollution linked to these disposal products.
Specifically, the proposed measure aims to regulate the production, importation, sale, distribution, provision, use, collection, recycling, and disposal of these single-use items.
Speaker Velasco said HB 9147 protects life from hazards posed by plastic pollution and ensures that non-compostable single-use plastic products do not leak into nature.
Likewise, the bill provides steps for the eventual phasing ouf of single-use plastic items, a step that is, from all accounts, one in the right direction, according to Speaker Velasco.
HB 9147 also mandates the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to formulate within six months a phase-out plan on single-use plastic products.
It obligates commercial firms to promote reusable, recyclable, and retrievable products in their stores and charges P5 from customers for every plastic bag used to take out food.
A violator of the proposed piece of legislation faces a fine ranging from P50,000 to P500,000 for micro enterprises and P250,000 to P1 million for large businesses.
As a well-meaning Filipino, we cannot overemphasize the importance of the measure considering the adverse effects of plastic pollution not only in the Philippines but elsewhere.
Plastic wastes clogging waterways, like rivers, creeks, lakes and drainage canals, cause widespread flooding in low-lying communities after a brief but heavy downpour.
