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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
Republic Act (RA) No. 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022 took effect on August 12, 2022, with the declared the policy of the State to adopt a systematic, comprehensive and ecological solid waste management program which shall:
“x x x
“(i) Integrate public participation in the development and implementation of national and local comprehensive and ecological waste management programs;
“(j) Strengthen the integration of ecological solid waste management and resource conservation and recovery topics into the academic curricula of formal and non-formal education in order to promote environmental awareness and action among the citizenry; and
(k) Institutionalize the extended producer responsibility mechanism as a practical approach to efficient waste management, focusing on waste reduction, recovery and recycling, and the development of environment-friendly products that advocate the internationally accepted principles on sustainable consumption and production, circular economy, and producers’ full responsibility throughout the life cycle of their product.”
Republic Act (RA) No. 11898 amends Act No. 9003, or otherwise known as the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”. According to the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the EPR Act of 2022 aims to achieve plastic neutrality which is defined as “a system or its desired outcome where, for every amount of plastic product footprint created, an equivalent amount thereof is recovered or removed from the environment by the product producers through an efficient waste management system.
Therefore, to achieve plastic neutrality, RA No. 11898 mandates the Obliged Enterprises (OEs) to plan, customize, and register with the National Solid Waste Management Commission their EPR Programs to reduce and/or recover for reuse, recycling, treatment, or proper ecological disposal the plastic packaging waste that they release or released to the domestic market.
Who are the Obliged Enterprises (OEs)?
OEs are product producers required to implement EPR under Article 2 of RA No. 11898., They are large enterprises that generate plastic packaging waste: Provided, however, That micro, small and medium enterprises defined under Republic Act No. 9501 shall not be covered: Provided, further, That in case the total value of assets of all enterprises carrying the same brand, label or trademark exceeds that of medium enterprises stated under Republic Act No. 9501, these enterprises shall be deemed obliged enterprises.
Notwithstanding the provisions of the immediately preceding paragraph, micro, small, and medium enterprises are encouraged to practice EPR voluntarily, or be a part of the network of obliged enterprises or producer responsibility organizations practicing EPR.
The following are the activities and strategies that may be included in the EPR Programs to achieve plastic neutrality:
a. Reduction of non-environment friendly products which may include the following activities and strategies:
- adoption of reusable products, or redesign of the products to improve its reusability, recyclability, or retrievability;
- inclusion of recycled content or recycled materials in a product;
- adoption of appropriate product refilling systems for retailers;
- viable reduction rates plan; information and education campaign schemes;
- information and education campaign schemes; and
- appropriate labeling of products, including the information thereon for the proper disposal of the waste product.
b. Product waste recovery programs aimed at effectively preventing waste from leaking to the environment, which may include the following activities:
- waste recovery schemes through redemption;
- buy-back, offsetting, or any method or strategy that will efficiently result in the high retrievability, high recyclability, and resource recovery of waste products;
- diversion of recovered waste into value chains and value-adding useful products through recycling and other sustainable methods;
- transportation of recovered waste to the appropriate composting, recycling, or other diversion or disposal site in the country;
- establishment of commercial or industrial scale recycling, composting, thermal treatment, and other waste diversion or disposal facilities for waste products, when investment therein is viable; and
- partnership with LGUs, communities, and the informal waste sectors.
Plastic Packaging Covered by EPR
Plastic packaging shall include the following:
(a) Sachets, labels, laminates and other flexible plastic packaging products, whether single layer or multi-layered with plastics or other materials;
(b) Rigid plastic packaging products, whether layered with any other materials, which include containers for beverages, food, home, personal care and cosmetic products, including their coverings, caps, or lids and other necessities or promotional items, such as cutlery, plates, drinking straws, or sticks, tarps, signage, or labels;
(c) Plastic bags, which include single-use plastic bags, for carrying or transporting of goods, and provided or utilized at the point of sale; and
(d) Polystyrene.
RELATED ARTICLES:
- Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week (Proclamation No. 1667, series of 2008)
- Environmental Week, as per Proclamation No. 975, series of 1972
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 0917-5772207/ 09778050020.
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