Plastic straws and stirrers may soon be banned in the Philippines after the National Solid Waste Management Commission included them in the list of non-environmentally acceptable products. / AFP / Anthony WALLACE
(Eagle News) — Plastic straws and stirrers may soon be banned in the Philippines.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said on Wednesday, Feb. 3, this was after the two items were included in the list of non-environmentally acceptable products drawn up by the National Solid Waste Management Commission.
The list of items which are supposed to be banned was drawn up in compliance with the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
It was supposed to be prepared within one year upon effectivity of that law.
According to Environment Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, the inclusion of straws and stirrers in the NEAP list was despite opposition from other Commission members including the Department of Trade and Industry.
“The prohibition on these two single-use plastic items may be small steps in the NEAP listing, but it is a big leap when it comes to compliance with the provisions of RA 9003,” he said.
He said he was also elated “that after 20 years since the birth of RA 9003, the NEAP listing has now commenced.”
“This is long overdue and we need to catch up with the demand of solid waste management in our country,” he said.