DENR: 709 of 4,000 firms manage plastic waste

MANILA, Philippines — Only 709 enterprises out of an estimated 4,000 large corporations submitted their plans under the Expanded Producer Responsibility (EPR) law or Republic Act 11898, which mandates companies to manage their plastic waste, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said yesterday.

According to the DENR, the EPR law mandated firms with total assets exceeding P100 million to register their programs with the DENR’s National Solid Waste Management Commission.

DENR Undersecretary for policy, planning and international affairs Jonas Leones said that as of September, 709 enterprises have submitted their EPR plans, designed to effectively manage plastic waste by eliminating the unnecessary packaging of products and developing more environmentally friendly and recyclable materials.

Leones said based on data from the Department of Trade and Industry, there are an estimated 4,000 large enterprises in the Philippines.

“Since EPR programs might be relatively new to many companies, we expect that more enterprises will submit their programs once they better understand how to operationalize modes of implementation into their businesses,” Leones said.

The EPR law specifies that firms recover 20 percent of their generated plastic product footprint by the end of 2023 with incremental targets for fulfillment each year, until 80 percent is reached by 2028.

Brand owners, product manufacturers or importers of consumer goods that implement EPR initiatives will be eligible for tax incentives.

Fines ranging from P5 million to P20 million will be levied on erring firms for non-compliance with the law’s provisions and target recovery rates.