Father and son gathering some plastic in Manila Bay
Photo file/THEPHILBIZNEWS
By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
The voluminous wastes of plastic that has been polluting the oceans and waterways has been a global concern even before the Covid-19 pandemic. In the advent of pandemic, the inevitable use of plastic has undeniably increased as the material is relied upon to protect people and carry or transport to prevent exposure to the virus.
While it may take some time to precisely account just how much additional plastic waste was generated during this time, initial data raises red flags: A bigger and more serious plastic pandemic is in the making should the world continue with its current ways of using and disposing of plastics improperly under the COVID reality.
Metro Manila and key provincial cities remain the biggest contributor in the tons of garbage are not properly disposed of and threatens our biodiversity and marine life, water bodies and flooding during the rainy season.
In the studies conducted by both the Asian Development Bank and Japan Science and Technology Agency that are very close in terms of data that there are close to 50,000 tons of garbage daily and this included close to 5,000 tons of plastic waste. Many pointed out that the lifestyle, packaging, and even the lack of discipline contributed to this alarming waste management and environmental problem.
Waste management has been a big challenge in the urban parts of the world, and the big question is, What happens to our trash after it’s been collected? What is being done to prevent collected waste from ending up in oceans?
Mondelez Philippines, in partnership with Eco-Business, discussed in a podcast entitled “What happens to waste?” wherein Bonar Laureto, Executive Director of Philippine Business for the Environment, and Toff Rada, the Country Manager for Corporate and Government Affairs of Mondelez Philippines engage in thoughtful discussions to tackle the pervasive issue of plastic waste and what steps are being taken to address this.
The use and disposal of plastic waste have certainly become a pervasive issue in recent times. However, it cannot be denied that plastic is critical to our current way of life. Based on the report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), it revealed that up to 74% of the plastic that becomes marine litter is from waste that has already been collected.
The issue is not really plastic, but the waste management problem. In the study of the Worldwide Fund for Nature, we can safely conclude that there is no system in place in waste management in the Philippines. Not to mention the discipline.
In many countries, the adaption of the recycling facilities in the highly urbanized area effectively manages their waste, while others see the investment to be costly, one has to look at the long term. This is what Bonar Laureto, Executive Director of Philippine Business for the Environment, noted that sanitary landfills that are up to proper standards are rare in the country.
“In the countryside, there are no true-to-definition landfills, and therefore, what’s happening is mostly dumping them in vacant lots or even burning them,” Laureto explained.
For his part, Toff Rada, the Country Manager for Corporate and Government Affairs of Mondelez Philippines underscored that addressing the plastic waste management issue and preventing any leakages to the ocean and waterways requires a collective effort from all the stakeholders, be it the general public, the government, and the private sector.
He also cited how Mondelez Philippines, which uses plastic as a packaging material for its snack products, have committed to making its packaging recyclable by 2025.
“By 2025 we have set our commitment to make our packaging 100% recyclable. And we’ve also committed to reducing the amount of global packaging material for our products by 65,000 tons by the end of this year,” the Country Manager of Mondelez Philippines added.
“The Company is also working closely with the industry association Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) and the LGU of Parañaque in order to establish a recycling facility within the city,” Rada added.
“We have a pilot recycling facility that we have put some investment in and that we hope will be a showcase for other cities and local governments to emulate and to see that it is something that can be done to improve the entire recycling infrastructure in the country,” Rada explained.
Collective effort: What can we do?
Consumers can start a good habit inside their households. The process of segregation at source may contribute to proper handling and managing of the waste during collection. Simply separating plastics from bio-wastes and contaminants can go a long way to achieve this.
“Contaminated plastics may be deemed not fit for recycling. If the trash bin in your home is mixed with bio-waste, it can actually contaminate the recyclables. For example, if you have shampoo bottles that still have contents, its value to a recycler will be lower as it will have to be disinfected, which can be costly, ” Laureto added.
“There’s another important step that households can do that will increase the chance of recyclability of plastics. For example, take tomato sauces or shampoos which tend to have their contents stick to the packaging, if you can rinse its contents very quickly before you throw them to the bin, it will greatly increase its recyclability”, he suggested.
“With cleaner recyclables, you can actually simply put it in a separate garbage bag instead of throwing that with the mixed waste to avoid contamination”, Laureto concluded.
Find out more and listen to their discussion and get more valuable insights: