EDITORIAL
Regulate and tax unnecessary plastic products
According to an article in earth.org, the Philippines had the
largest share of global plastic waste discarded in the ocean in 2019.
The country was responsible for 36.38% of global oceanic plastic
waste, far more than the second-largest plastic polluter, India, which
accounted for about 12.92% of the total in the same year.
This situation leads to a bigger invisible problem: microplastics
in our bloodstream. How would this happen?
The problem starts with our simple habit of buying things in
small quantities. Instead of buying a liter of soda drink, consumers
prefer to buy this drink in small quantities packed in small single-use
plastic containers called “sakto” or sachets. In a gathering of 1,000
people served with “sakto” drinks, 1,000 pieces of single-use plastic
waste would be generated on one occasion only. Imagine how many
gatherings of big crowds happen in the Philippines annually and how
many single-use plastic waste are generated. And we are just talking
about one product here. Come to think that almost all household
necessities are packed in sachets.
Large corporations exploit this situation by offering palm-sized
packages of products and building a “sachet economy.” Studies show
that 70% of Filipinos lack access to disposal facilities, which steers
plastic waste directly to oceans. With minimal exposure to
environmentally friendly options for plastic disposal, the population
often lacks awareness of plastic pollution. According to the United
Nations, more than 51 trillion microplastic particles litter the world’s
seas, a quantity that outnumbers the stars in our galaxy by 500
times. Since we are heavily dependent on marine products for food,
microplastics sneak into our bloodstream like a thief of the night.
The National Economic Development Authority is strongly
pushing for the passage of House Bill No. 26: Unnecessary Plastic
Products Regulation and House Bill No. 4102: Excise Tax on Single-
Use Plastic Bags. Although this may probably result in the slight
increase of prices of basic commodities packed in sachets, the long-
term objective of the proposed legislation is to influence us to change
the habit of patronizing the “sachet economy”, thereby putting an end
to a habit that has aggravated the problem on plastic wastes.
While it is true that the “sachet economy” offers convenience to
the consuming public, it is high time that we put an end to our
patronage of single-use plastics by regulating and taxing the use of
unnecessary plastic products.