Cayetano pushes plastic ban

SEN. Pilar Juliana “Pia” Cayetano on Wednesday urged her fellow senators to “go paperless” and ban the use of plastics.

Cayetano noted that 164 million pieces of plastic sachets were used in the Philippines daily, accumulating to a staggering 59.7 billion pieces of sachets yearly.

Pressing the issue of sustainability and the importance of solid waste management, the senator called on her colleagues to stop using plastic bottles and sachets, and go paperless in the Senate.

“It is my duty to bring the concept of sustainability into discussion and debate every day,” Cayetano said.

The chairman of the Senate Committee on Sustainable Development Goals noted that over 21 million tons of solid waste were generated in 2019, and about 10.55 percent of these were plastic.

Cayetano lamented that the amount of waste in the country has reached 18.05 million tons, noting that 50 percent of the amount were biodegradable, 15 percent were plastic, 15 percent were paper and 20 percent were miscellaneous.

Metro Manila contributed 26 percent to the country’s total waste generation.

Inspired by Cayetano’s speech, Sen. Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara urged the

Senate to go digital.

Angara asked Senate President Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri to convey to the Senate Secretariat that he no longer wanted to receive printed materials on his table.

The Senate Secretariat provides hard copies of Journals and the Order of Business to senators during sessions.

Zubiri expressed his full support for Cayetano’s call.

Zubiri said being a scuba diver himself, he personally witnessed the damage caused by plastic products such as bottles, nets and sachets to the marine ecosystem, adding the harmful effect of plastic wastes also reduces the fish population, compromising the livelihood of Filipino fishermen.

“You have our full support, if there is a hearing I would love to attend as well,” Zubiri assured Cayetano.

He also commended Sen. Cynthia Villar for defending the Expanded Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 or Republic Act 11898, which lapsed into law on July 23, 2022.

The law makes it mandatory for major producers of plastics like plastic bottles, plastic containers and sachets to spearhead programs to recover or recycle plastic waste.