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          Senator Cynthia Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said waste management should not take a backseat during the pandemic but instead it should be prioritized to prevent the spread of diseases.           “We all know that a clean environment is a healthy environment. Improperly disposed wastes can cause infection and contamination. So, we should to take proper waste disposal and management even more seriously,” said Villar.              According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “If solid waste is not dealt with quickly, serious health risks will develop which will further demoralize the community already traumatized by the emergency”. Moreover, the International Solid Waste Association cites that “Waste Management is one of the most important sanitary barriers to prevent dissemination of illnesses and diseases”.         ...

Sen. Cynthia Villar has called for the committee hearing on the bill that will mandate manufacturers to be responsible for the management of their plastic products. Senate Bill No. 1331 or the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2020 authored by Villar, seeks to institutionalize the practice of EPR in waste management. It also amends the 20-year-old Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. “This measure makes sure that the responsibility for the entire life cycle of plastic products rests on the manufacturers. It will mandate manufacturers to recover plastic wastes from their products as a mechanism towards achieving an efficient solid waste management,” Villar said. Villar, chair of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, said there are indications that the industry would welcome the EPR approach, citing the declaration signed last month by the members of the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) ...