For Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, the biggest contributor to the country’s waste management problem isn't plastic; rather, it's the people who claim that they are allies of the environment, but actually aren't.

"Our main problem here in the country is not plastic per se, or literally. But our main problem the 'plastic' people who are saying...they do care for the environment but they are the first polluters in this country," Antiporda said on Saturday, April 24.

The official--still recovering from his bout with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)--served as a resource person via Zoom in The Filipinos World's episode dubbed "Re-shape, Re-cycle, Re-invent: Save the Mother Earth."

He said that colloquially, "plastic" can mean people who say one thing, but do the opposite. This is apparently reflected in the country's garbage woes.

"They don't even think of what they need to do in coming up with a solution the problem of solid waste management," Antiporda said without naming any individual or group in particular.

Plastic is widely known to be harmful to Mother Nature, given the sheer amount of time it takes for it to rot or completely go away. Plastic also contributes to global warming.

To further illustrate his point that it's the environmentally irresponsible people who deserve more blame than actual plastic, Antiporda gave the following analogy.

"Kapag nagbara po ba ang kanal natin dahil sa isang plastic, kasalanan po ba ito nung tao o nung plastic? Kapag po tayo a lumunok ng pagkain at hindi po natin nginuya, kalasanan po ba ito ng pagkain o kasalanan ito ng tao? (If our waterways get clogged because of a piece of plastic, is it the people's fault or the plastic's fault? If we eat food and get choked for not chewing it first, is the food's fault or our fault?)" he asked.

"Ngayon, handa na po ba natin ipagbawal ang pagkain, parang ipagbabawal na rin natin ang plastic? Pag-isipan po natin yan ng mabuti (Now, are we ready to ban food the same way we want to ban plastic? Let's think about that carefully)," the DENR official said.

Antiproda is the chief of the agency's Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns office.