The City Government of Davao, through the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) is urging all Dabawenyos to start the shift from single-use plastic items, such as plastic cutleries and cups, to their recyclable or biodegradable counterparts.
This, as the office is set to fully implement restrictions on single-use plastics this year, as mandated by city ordinance no. 0500-21 series of 2021 or the “No to Single-Use Plastics Ordinance of 2021”.
According to CENRO Information Education Unit Representative Orly Limpangog, during the ‘Go Clean, Go Green’ program Tuesday, the ordinance’s Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) is expected to be imposed in the city in the third quarter of 2022. With this, the CENRO is advising all Dabawenyos, especially business owners in the food industry, to make the transition as early as today.
Limpangog said that the ordinance is not only aimed at managing the city’s solid waste but also to lessen the amount of garbage that ends up in Davao City’s waters and coastal areas. He said that during clean-up operations conducted by CENRO, single-use plastics are among the majority of waste items collected from the city’s coasts.
“Kung ma-aprubahan na atong IRR, nagsugod na man ang sessions sa atong city council so maybe two to three months siguro niini maaprubahan atong IRR, then magstart na gyud mig dakop ani, aron ma-mitigate gyud nato ang mga single-use plastics na maabot sa atong kabaybayunan (When our IRR is approved, which may be in two or three months since the city council has already started its sessions, then we will start apprehending violators in order to mitigate the presence of single-use plastics in our coastal areas),” Limpangog said.
The ordinance not only regulates single-use plastics in business establishments but also their individual use. Establishments that wish to retail single-use plastic products will have to pay P10,000 for a “special permit to sell” while those who wish to distribute or use these in large amounts (e. g. during events or special occasions) will have to pay P5 for each single-use plastic to obtain a “special permit to distribute”. Establishments that have failed to secure the special permit to sell or distribute single-use plastics will be fined and may even be foreclosed. Business owners that have recently renewed their business permits were told to display anti-single-use plastics campaign posters in their establishments.
Establishments that have relied on plastic, cutleries, straws, cups, cup lids, plates, egg trays, hand gloves and other single-use plastics are advised to transition into using items made of biodegradable or reusable materials before the IRR of the ordinance is fully set in place. Limpangog said that businesses such as fast-food chains have already started to make the transition. “Ang mga dako na fast-food chain dinhi parehas sa Mcdo, Jollibee, ang ilang ginagamit karon [utensils] kay mga kahoy na (The big fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Jollibee are now using wooden utensils),” Limpangog added.
The administrative penalty for first-time violators of the ordinance is set at P1,000, or they may render an 8-hour environmental service; the second offense entails a P3,000 fine or a 16-hour environmental service; meanwhile, the maximum penalty is set at P5,000. CIO
