The various businesses who registered under the Expanded Producers’ Responsibility (EPR) Act have met the target 20 percent recovery threshold from plastics declared as waste in 2023, the inaugural year of its implementation, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Wednesday.
According to the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), 20 percent or 124,986 tons of plastic packaging from a total 624,547 tons of plastics waste last year were recycled.
Also, the number of businesses registering under the EPR program increased by 37 percent from only 667 in 2023 to 917 as of 6 May this year.
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said this demonstrates the significant strides achieved by private enterprises in the “shared goal of building a circular economy where waste is minimized, resources are protected and the delicate balance of our planet is restored.”
Given this development, Loyzaga expressed optimism the Philippines will hit the target recovery and recycling 80 percent of plastic packaging by 2028.
The EPR Act first came into force in 2022 requiring businesses to conduct proper waste management of plastic packaging such as sachets, rigid plastic packaging, plastic bags and polystyrene.
Under the EPR Act, the target recovery or recycle footprint was set at 20 percent in 2023, 40 percent this year, 50 percent by 2025, 60 percent by 2026, 70 percent by 2027, and 80 percent by 2028.
The DENR also issued Administrative Order (DAO) 2024-04 promulgating the interim guidelines under which reporting companies are audited for compliance purposes under the EPR law.
“The urgency of our mission is underscored by the growing impacts of linear consumption patterns as evidenced by the staggering volume of waste generated daily in our country,” Loyzaga said.
The DENR said the EPR Act helps the country move away from the linear economy model of take-make-dispose by adopting instead a circular economy that enhances the efficient use of materials and redirects processes from the end of the supply chain back to the beginning.
