PASAY City, Oct. 27, 2011?A pollution watchdog lauded the Pasay City government’s decision to regulate the use of plastic bags to reduce if not eradicate plastic pollution in the city.
Environmental network Eco Waste Coalition commended Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto for his initiative to rid the city of plastic pollution by endorsing the use of recyclable bags.
“We laud Mayor Antonino Calixto, Vice Mayor Marlon Pesebre who authored the ordinance, and the Pasay City Council for enacting this very important legislation,” said Christina Vergara, Zero Waste Program Officer of EcoWaste Coalition.
“Through this initiative, the city will significantly reduce the volume of its garbage, promote the use of ecological bags, and mitigate plastic pollution in the city and in Manila Bay,” she added.
On October 3, Calixto signed City Ordinance 4647 or “Ordinance Regulating the Use of Non-compostable Plastic Carry Out Bags in Pasay City and Promoting the Use of Recyclable Paper Carry Out Bags and Reusable Carry Out Bags.”
All stores within the city are required to provide their customers with paper bags instead of plastic carry out bags.
The ordinance also promotes the use of recyclable paper carryout bags, reusable bags and compostable bags to lessen the impacts of plastic pollution and reduce the city’s expenses on solid waste management disposal.
But the city ordinance won’t take effect till next year to give enough time to educate the public and allow affected stakeholders, especially store owners to meet with the requirements.
At least 20 cities and municipalities across the country have already approved the regulation of phasing out and banning the use of plastic bags and packaging.
Early this year, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has called on local government units (LGUs) to ban plastic bags.
Disposable plastic products have always been a problem as these pollute waterways and clog drainages.
For its part, the Laguna Lake Development Authority has issued a resolution supporting the prohibition on plastic bags in lakeshore towns and cities.
Vergara said the president should be inspired by the concerned local officials’ decision to sanction the use of plastic bags to protect the environment.
“More and more cities and municipalities are already banning the use of plastic bags and it should already be a motivation to President Noynoy Aquino to enact a national ban,” she said.
PNoy’s decision to ban the use of plastic, if ever, will demonstrate his strong support for the implementation of the country’s environmental laws.
Plastic bags and other disposable plastic products pollute rivers and contribute to the degradation of the environment, Vergara added.
“The people are already speaking and we want to end plastic pollution, now!” she said. (CBCPNews)
