THERE is a global movement that helps millions of people be part of the solution to plastic pollution – so we can have cleaner streets, oceans and beautiful communities. It is called Plastic-Free July.
Will you be part of Plastic-Free July by choosing to refuse single-use plastics? The goal is to reduce single-use plastic waste everyday – at home, work, school, and even at your local café.
Yes, each one of us making a small change will collectively make a massive difference to our communities. You can choose to refuse single-use plastics in July (and beyond!). Best of all, being part of Plastic-Free July will help you to find great alternatives that can become new habits forever.
For the long-term, however, it is better if our country has a comprehensive ban on single-use plastics of SUPs. Plastic bags are a threat to human health and the environment because of the many chemicals, including toxic metals such as lead, that make them up. Now more than ever, we see the need for a comprehensive policy banning throw-away plastic bags to reduce their manufacture, prevent chemical and waste pollution, while the use of non-toxic reusable bags and containers are actively promoted and supported. Lead and other hazardous substances in packaging materials become part of the municipal solid waste sent to dumpsites, landfills, incinerators and cement kilns or disposed of in water bodies, posing a risk to public health and the environment.
SUPs should also be included in the decades-old delayed list of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging (NEAP) that the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) is mandated to release, as clearly required by Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
We strongly urge the NSWMC, chaired by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and which is under the Office of the President, to draw up the long-overdue list of items that are unsafe in production, use, post-consumer use, or that produce or release harmful by-products when discarded,’ with SUPs on top of the list.
The production and sale of lead-containing plastic bags goes against DENR Administrative Order 2013-024, also known as the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds, which prohibits the use of lead in the manufacturing of food and beverage packaging, particularly for packaging that comes directly in contact with food.
Let us protect ourselves and our environment.
