Prepare to say goodbye to plastic soft drinks straws and coffee stirrers.
These two ubiquitous items were placed on the list of non-environmentally acceptable products (NEAP) by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC). As a result, they may be banned soon as part of the implementation of Republic Act (RA) 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000.
The draft resolution declaring plastic soft drinks straw and plastic coffee stirrer as NEAP was deliberated upon during a Tuesday virtual en banc meeting, which was presided by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units (LGUs) Concerns and NSWMC Alternate Chair Benny Antiporda.
In the end, 11 en banc members voted to list the two plastic items, while three voted against it. The approved resolution comes at a perfect time as the world celebrates International Straw Free Day on Wednesday, February 3.
“This global celebration aims to encourage the public to go straw-free and say 'no straw please' when ordering drinks,” Antiporda said.
Reports said the resolution was passed despite heavy opposition coming from some members of the Commission, such as the Department of Trade and Industry, the manufacturing and recycling industries.
Other members who participated in the meeting were the Department of Health (DOH), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Philippine Information Agency (PIA), League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), League of Cities of the Philippines (LGO), and non-government organizations represented by the EcoWaste Coalition.
Section 29 of RA 9003 states that, "within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall, after public notice and hearing, prepare a list of non-environmentally acceptable products as defined in this Act that shall be prohibited according to a schedule that shall be prepared by the Commission.”
However, it was only two decades after the Act was passed that the Commission came up with a list of NEAP.
"This is long overdue and we need to catch up with the demand of solid waste management in our country,” Antiporda said.