Plastic bag ban helps reduce waste management costs – group

MANILA, Philippines – A waste and pollution watchdog said the local government units (LGUs) will benefit in terms of cost reduction if they ban plastic bags and polystyrene food containers in their areas.

The Ecowaste Coalition said LGUs should follow what Muntinlupa did, enacting an ordinance which banned business establishments from using these materials as packaging for wet and dry goods.

Troy Lacsamana of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Task Force Plastics said a ban will control, if not eradicate, plastic pollution and will benefit LGUs by meeting their waste reduction targets and decrease their expenses for garbage disposal.

“Our LGUs have been carrying the plastic garbage burden, spending millions of pesos in de-clogging waterways and in managing residual plastic discards,” he said.

The plastic bag and polystyrene food container ban in Muntinlupa took effect last January 18 as mandated by Ordinance 10-109.

Ecowaste Coalition has also thrown its support to the proposal by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) urging local government units (LGUs) to impose strong measures to curb plastic pollution.

“We praise Chairman Francis Tolentino’s eagerness to ban plastic bags and containers similar to what Muntinlupa and other innovative LGUs have done,” said Lacsamana.

Tolentino earlier praised Muntinlupa City for enacting the ordinance, which is the first citywide ban on plastic bags and polystyrene food containers in Metro Manila. –JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin