The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday said its solid waste management initiatives are on the right track.
DENR Usec. for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns Benny Antiporda said the recent inclusion of plastic soft drink straws and plastic coffee stirrers in the list of non-environmentally acceptable products (NEAP) in the country is a big boost in the government’s solid waste management initiative.
He said the development has made DENR all the more determined to pursue its solid waste management initiatives through the Tayo ang Kalikasan (TAK) campaign.
“With the initial listing of these two items in the NEAP, we are all the more encouraged to uphold our mandate and advocacy on solid waste management despite the lingering pandemic in the country,” he said.
Antiporda said DENR regional offices have been stepping up their TAK campaign, which primarily aims to enhance people’s awareness on Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 with the end goal of substantially reducing the volume of plastic wastes and prevent these from polluting the environment.
Local governments, he said, also support the inclusion of the two plastic items in the NEAP list.
Several cities and municipalities already have their own local ordinances which include banning these two unnecessary plastic items.
“We have LGUs that have started banning plastic coffee stirrers and plastic soft drink straws, such as in El Nido, Palawan. Though there have been challenges in this pandemic, I am glad that our LGUs realize the damage of such unnecessary items to the
environment and that they are our allies in our battle against improper solid waste disposal,” he said.
