Thesis: The plastic we use and discard without an afterthought remains in our environment for centuries, even millennia. Regulators are creating rules to mitigate this refuse.
In their war on excessive waste, countries around the world use extended producer responsibility (EPR) as a common weapon. Germany, for instance, recycles 65% of its waste thanks to recycling systems recycling systems Tomorrow City THE GERMAN RECYCLING SYSTEM: THE WORLD’S BEST RECYCLING COUNTRY Read more like the Green Dot Green Dot IBS Center for Management Research Germany's 'Green Dot' Waste Management System Read more programme. India requires manufacturers to treat and dispose of their waste and Korea had a plastic recycling rate of 55.8% in 2020.
In a bid to clean up its act, even the Philippines—the world’s third third World Bank Market Study for the Philippines : Plastics Circularity Opportunities and Barriers Read more largest plastic polluter after India and China—followed suit.
On 22 July 2022, it introduced an EPR law that mandates the country’s largest plastic manufacturers to manage their plastic waste. While violators are imposed with heavy fines between 5,000,000 pesos (US$89,400) and 20,000,000 pesos (US$357,700), compliant parties are awarded incentives such as tax breaks. This forces polluters to pick up after themselves while dealing with plastic pollution directly at the source.
Top polluters polluters Greenpeace Brand Audit 2022: Greenpeace PH calls on world leaders to hold worst plastic polluters accountable Read more including fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) giants Unilever and Nestlé chose chose Nestlé EPR law on plastic waste will succeed as all sectors work together Read more recycling as their main EPR-compliance EPR-compliance Reuters Unilever’s Plastic Playbook Read more method. The policy may be helping the country reduce its plastic waste, but a coalition of consumer goods companies, government bodies, environmentalists, and small businesses beg to differ.
Carlos Hechanova, convener of the No Other Year for Plastics Initiative (NOYPI)— which counts personal care company L’Oréal, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Climate Change Commission, and Greenpeace among its ranks—has a Counterthesis: the Philippine EPR can increase plastic production and harm communities.
