Plastic and styrofoam materials for packaging of merchandise will soon be banned in the Art Capital of the Country starting August 1.
The office of Mayor Jeri Mae Calderon said Municipal Ordinance No. 11-618 which is scheduled to be implemented next month stipulates the prohibition on the use of styrofoam boxes, plastic bags and pouches as packaging of products including food items.
Calderon said the local issuance, which complements the town government’s Zero Basura program that has been the advocacy of her father, Vice Mayor Gerardo Calderon even during his term as mayor of the municipality, has penalties ranging from P500 to P2,000 for the establishments and individuals, respectively, aside from the cancellation of business permit for repeat violations.
There have been dozens of warnings in the form of notices of violation issued by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) against some establishments in the public market during the past weeks.
MENRO has also been reminding the public that the local plastic and styro ban is in conjunction with a similar issuance made by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, through Provincial Ordinance No. 13, Series of 2019, that regulates the use of non-biodegradable packaging in the entire province.
Mayor Calderon, in a Facebook post, said plastic and styro packagings have contributed a lot in clogging the waterways in the town that resulted in flooding in the past years.
MENRO’s Facebook page, the Angono Bantay Kalikasan (ABAKA), revealed that authorities have found out that the compliance rate was high for both the establishments and the individuals with only a few violators defying the ordinance when MENRO personnel conducted an inspection at the Angono Public Market on July 17.