Marine conservation advocacy group Oceana Philippines has helped quantify single-use plastic waste avoidance between November and December among a handful of environment-conscious private enterprises.
"#DiNaSingle enterprises composed of Akbayanihan, Back to Basics, Eco Shift, Katha, Lush, and Balay Qubo and The Bamboo Company avoided a total of 1,055,098 single-use plastic in November to December 2020," a statement from Oceana bared Thursday.
Oceana, in partnership with these companies, installed a monitor in their respective stores--online or otherwise--to count the number of plastic-free products created and sold to their customers.
“We are elated that our #DiNaSingle partners persevere in mainstreaming plastic-free alternatives and minimize packaging to reduce waste even without receiving incentives from the government. They are displaying ethical leadership in showing that business can still run without adding to the pervasive plastic litter that the world and our oceans face," Oceana Vice President Gloria Estenzo Ramos said.
The hashtag #DiNaSingle is a clever reference to the local movement against single-use plastics. It also entails the formation of new partnerships.
"We are confident that more enterprises will follow suit for the care of our environment and our children’s future,” Ramos added.
Oceana recently joined the dialogue of civil society and environment groups with the National Solid Waste Management Commission. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Benny Antiporda also took part in the meeting.
Antiporda vowed to release the list of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging soon. Oceana called this "an unperformed 20-year-old mandate of the Commission which could have drastically reduced plastic pollution at the sources."
Having single use-plastics in the list of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP) list will effectively make their production, trade, and usage a prohibited act under Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, Oceana said.
The pandemic has aggravated the massive use of throw-away plastics, in the form of face masks, face shields, gloves, PPE, and delivery services packaging, many of which are found in the oceans.
The Philippines is branded as among the five countries responsible for most of the plastics that end up in the ocean.
It was February 2020 when DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu signed a resolution implementing a ban on the use of single-use plastic products by national government agencies, local government units, and other government-controlled offices. The banned items include plastic bags, straws, and spoons and forks.