The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) urged big companies in the city to comply with plastic recovery programs to enable them to avail of fiscal incentives, among others.
DENR-EMB-6 solid waste management section chief Nidalyn Agsaluna encouraged owners of large enterprises during an orientation on the Republic Act 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law of 2022, to collaborate with local government units and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as they develop and submit their respective EPR programs.
“We are here to help and guide you as you create your respective EPR programs. Much more, companies that undertake effective solid waste management may be able to avail fiscal incentives such as tax incentives, deductions and tax and duty exemption of donations, legacies and gifts,” Agsaluna said.
The EPR Law sets incremental targets that should be fulfilled yearly until 2030, obliging companies to recover 20 percent of their plastic footprint from the previous year, and institutionalizing extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging waste.
This stemmed from the establishment of the National Solid Waste Management Commission through the amended Republic Act 9003, which oversees the implementation of solid waste management plans and prescribes policies to meet the objectives of the country in waste recovery.
Agsaluna also reminded the concerned companies that penalties will be imposed for non-compliance due to failure to register, falsification of documents, misdeclaration of generated or recovered footprint, employment of any scheme to maliciously evade the responsibility of an enterprise under the EPR Law, and tampering with compliance, among others.
Penalties for the first offense are not less than P5 million but not exceeding P10 million; for the second offense, it is not less than P10 million but not exceeding P15 million; and the third offense will be not less than P15 million but not exceeding P20 million, including automatic suspension of business permit until requirement of the EPR Law is complied with.
Meanwhile, REC Technical Support staff Cherry Calapa-an discussed the functions and roles of the REC based on the EPR Law.
“The amended law places responsibility for the entire life cycle of plastic waste on its producers through the development and implementation of its EPR programs that focus on waste reduction, recovery, and diversion,” Calapa-an shared.
She also emphasized that the law views on strengthening the integration of ecological solid waste management and resource conservation and recovery; institutionalizing the extended producer responsibility mechanism for efficient waste management; and allowing the private sector to improve their business operations.
Some of the plastic packaging covered under the EPR include flexible packaging, rigid plastic packaging products, whether layered with any other materials, plastic bags such as those used in carrying or transporting goods and provided or utilized at the point of sale, and polystyrene.
Per the report of the agency, there were only 709 submissions of EPR plans nationwide as of September 15 this year.
The submitted EPR plans include 105 obliged enterprises, 49 collectives, 307 producer-responsibility organizations, and 248 micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country. (PIA-6)