Filipinos urged to end ‘toxic’ relationship with plastic on Valentine’s Day

MANILA, Philippines — As Filipinos celebrate Valentine’s Day with their loved ones, an environmental group offers a unique suggestion: break up with single-use plastics. 

EcoWaste Coalition on Wednesday urged the public to ditch their “toxic” relationship with throw-away plastics that threaten both human health and the planet. 

“We can live without single-use plastics but we cannot live in an environment where a big portion of our waterways are polluted with disposable plastics, along with their chemical additives,” EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator Aileen Lucero said. 

“For the love of Mother Earth, we need to end this toxic relationship before our oceans and rivers completely turn into a floating dumping ground,” she added. 

The group noted that despite the passage of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act in 2001, solid waste generation in the Philippines surged from 9.07 million tons in 2000 to 16.63 million in 2020."

In a 2021 World Bank report, the financial institution said that the Philippines’ heavy reliance on single-use plastics, driven by their affordability and convenience, has exacerbated the already alarming levels of marine plastic pollution in the region.

This Valentine’s Day, EcoWaste Coalition urges Filipinos to start a “loving and enduring” relationship with alternatives to single use plastics such as the following: