As part of its commitment to regulate plastic packaging and reduce waste, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is exploring partnerships with private companies in creating a plastic waste management action roadmap.
Joining the recent DENR Multistakeholder Forum as panelists, representatives from the private sector shared their efforts toward achieving sustainable economic growth, capturing the attention of DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga who prefers a whole-of-society engagement approach.
Loyzaga expressed optimism in examining opportunities for a strategic partnership with the private sector after all panelists committed to help and assist the agency on managing plastic waste.
“In many ways, (our) work (in) environment and natural resources management intersects the commercial and private interests of the major conglomerates, and so we are very keen to involve them strategically. There are opportunities that are going to be wide open for us to explore and to detail in the coming weeks,” she noted.
During the forum, representatives from big corporations vowed to develop policies together with their stakeholders including the DENR in managing and improving the circularity of plastic, to contribute in setting policies for the environment while still promoting economic development, and to comply with the DENR’s mission and even go above and beyond regulatory requirements, among others.
Loyzaga said the commitment of everyone in the panel to work with the DENR on plastic waste management is one of the key developments in the forum.
The official vowed to translate the pledges into working plans as the DENR is also in the process of formulating the implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, which lapsed into law in July this year.
The EPR law, which officially took effect on Aug. 13, 2022, targets to recover plastic packaging footprint by 20 percent by Dec. 31, 2023, and 80 percent by Dec. 31, 2028, and every year thereafter.