The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has lauded the Davao City government’s move to totally ban the use of non-biodegradables and polystyrene foam as food and beverage containers effective June 28, this year.
DENR Regional Executive Director Jim O. Sampulna said the ban of these non-biodegradable containers is spelled out under City Ordinance 361 series of 2010.
He said the ban on non-biodegradable containers will significantly reduce the city’s burden on managing wastes that are very damaging to the environment.
“Once plastic bags or polystyrene foams are used, most of them go to the landfill or end up littering the environment. And once they become litter, they find their way into the waterways, streets, beaches and seas. Plastics and polystyrene foams clog waterways and pollute our oceans and seas too. The sad reality is since they are non-biodegradables. Their decomposition takes very long years,” Sampulna said.
During their coastal clean-up last year, plastic wrappers/containers form the bulk of the 17,087 kilos of garbage collected.
Aside from this, he said plastic wrappers/containers also made up most of the 252 sacks of garbage collected during their succeeding Estero or canal clean activities.
Sampulna said DENR Secretary Ramon Paje has instructed all DENR field offices in the country to continuously provide technical assistance to the local government units (LGUs) as far as solid waste management is concerned.
With the upcoming ban on the use of plastics, DENR expects to collect lesser or zero plastic food containers on their next coastal and canal clean-up activities in Davao City. [PNA]
