An environmental group on Friday sees an end to plastic production after the United Nations adopted a resolution that will mandate the creation of the legally binding treaty by 2024 to put an end to plastic pollution, especially in developing countries.
“This resolution spells the beginning of the end to decades of corporate-led indiscriminate and irresponsible plastic production that has created the plastic pollution crisis we face today,” Greenpeace Zero Waste Campaigner Marian Frances T. Ledesma said in a statement.
“The ambitious mandate establishes good parameters for negotiations for a strong, comprehensive plastics treaty which prioritizes humankind and the earth,” she added.
The international community has adopted the resolution on “End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument,” during the fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya on March 2.
Ms. Ledesma said the Philippines “will have a rallying point to call for drastic measures to cut down on production and start a just transition” with the support mechanisms in the mandate such as technical and financial assistance.
Greenpeace also called for the national and local governments to pass a nationwide ban on single-use plastics with orders to reduce its production.
“Likewise, local governments can align themselves to the global ambition by promoting reuse and refill systems, and opposing waste-burning technologies,” the group said.
Earlier, World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines urged local governments and port authorities to align on plastic ban.
In July, lawmakers at the House of Representatives unanimously approved on final reading House Bill No. 9147 or the Single-Use Plastic Products Regulation Act, which aims to put a halt on the production single-use plastics. The Senate counterpart measure is pending.
In November 2021, the international Finance Corp. said the proportion of recycled plastics in the country is about 30%, with the unrecycled materials valued at around $1 billion yearly. — Marielle C. Lucenio