MANILA, 17 September 2021 — In celebration of the International Coastal Clean-Up Day tomorrow, the Climate Change Commission (CCC) enjoins the public to undertake clean-up initiatives at home and within their communities to assess their plastic footprint and prevent plastic waste from polluting our environment.
 
The country celebrates International Coastal Clean-Up Day every 3rd Saturday of September, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 470, encouraging all people to be responsive in protecting and rehabilitating our environment.
 
Plastics remain as one of the most pressing environmental and climate issues in the world because only 9% of the more than 8.3 billion tons of plastics generated since the 1950s was recycled and 60% became plastic waste. As a petroleum product, plastics also contribute to global warming due to the release of greenhouse gases from its extraction to disposal.
 
The CCC expressed that the passage of House Bill 9147 or the Single-Use Plastic Products Regulation Act on third and final reading in the House of Representatives last July 28 is a welcome development to address the rising plastic consumption in the country, especially from online shopping and delivery. The bill seeks the gradual phase-out of single-use plastics, development of sustainable alternatives, and greater cooperation from the private sector to collect, recycle, and manage plastic waste.
 
The CCC said that through our clean-up activities at home, workplaces, or communities, we would be able to check our plastic footprint towards being more conscious in our decisions and actions to minimize plastic waste, recycle or upcycle, and supporting more eco-friendly alternatives products and packaging.
 
“As the country continues to contend with the crippling COVID-19 pandemic, the need to rethink our lifestyle has never been more urgent. Let us practice and promote sustainable consumption and production, and remove unnecessary single-use plastics in our daily life. We can instead use compostable and eco-friendly materials and ensure that the plastics we use can be segregated, reused or recycled, to prevent further harm to the environment and the climate,” said CCC Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Emmanuel M. de Guzman.