The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila, in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), hosted a workshop on Sept. 24, 2024, to promote the inception of the Deposit Return System (DRS) as a complimenting mechanism for Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) in the Philippines at Seda Hotel in Quezon City.
The workshop follows the discussions last year, in line with the goal of the Philippines to achieve its target of 80 percent plastic waste recovery by 2028. The DRS can boost the circular economy of the country, where consumers can refund deposits from plastic products upon the return of their packaging at an accessible collection point.
DRS is a high-performing recycling scheme that encourages consumers with incentives for the packaging and containers returned. DRS is a proven and tested model to have accelerated circularity of beverage containers up to 90 percent. It is currently implemented in over 60 markets all over the world including countries in Europe, Oceania, Africa, and the Middle East, states in America and Australia, and provinces in Canada. DRS is influencing consumer behavior towards solid waste management by encouraging consumers to return beverage bottles.
“The Deposit Return System is deeply rooted in Norwegian society,” said Norwegian Ambassador to the Philippines Christian Halaas Lyster highlighting the importance of DRS to the Norwegian circular economy and its development. “Norway is one of the first countries to have set and implemented the DRS and its success resulted in a very impressive return rate of 92.8 percent of plastic bottles throughout the country today. We are confident that the introduction of closed-loop solutions would be an effective response to the waste challenges of the Philippines” he added.
DENR Undersecretary Atty. Analiza Teh shared the department’s drive to collaborate with civil society partners in creating a sustainable DRS program, and eventually scale it up.
The workshop issues the Phase 1 Feasibility Study which aims to fine-tune the DRS mechanism for the Philippines and set the tone on how it would fit in terms of social dynamics, economic development, and available infrastructure in context. The implementation of the DRS can vary from one place to another, and the feasibility study is an approach to tailor-fit the design of the circularity to its setting.
This workshop also serves as an avenue for discussions to share best practices between high-performing DRS countries (Norway, Germany, Australia, and Estonia) and the Philippines. The Feasibility study was conducted by an international consulting agency based in Estonia - Earth Care and was funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Manila for its first two tranches.
TOMRA Vice President Public Affairs, System Design in Asia Lovish Ahuja shared that “Philippines government’s decision to roll out EPR Act of 2022 is testimony of its commitment to resolving the gauntlet of plastic pollution. This will go a long way in promoting circularity into action and contribute towards larger goals of Sustainable Development including Climate Change. The DRS is an established and potent tool in mitigating the menace of plastic containers (e.g. PET, and other beverage packaging types) stemming from beverage applications. DRS is known for achieving the highest collection for beverage containers (PET, metal cans, glass, and liquid paper board) compared to any other EPR scheme, and also acts as a catalyst for promoting the recycling sector by generating clean feedstock in a required volume. For a country like the Philippines, with thousands of islands, the economy of scale is a pivotal element for promotion/feasibility of the recycling sector, and this is where DRS will come in handy with proven highest collection rate.”
The Norwegian Embassy in Manila funds the second phase of the feasibility study for the DRS program with support from WWF. The project is setting the target for pilot project approval and implementation for the first DRS pilot site by 2025.