MANILA, 2 December 2020 — Advocates against single-use plastic will gather virtually to promote ways to urgently reduce plastic pollution and raise awareness on the negative effects of single-use plastics on people’s health, and on the environment and climate emergency, on the 28th episode of “Stories for a Better Normal: Pandemic and Climate Change Pathways” with the topic, “Uniting Against Single-Use Plastic.”

The episode will air on Thursday, 3 December 2020, 10:00 AM via Facebook Live at facebook.com/CCCPhl and facebook.com/conglorenlegarda.

Mayor Edwin David Santiago of San Fernando City, Pampanga; Julian Rodriquez, Founding member of Plastic Tides PH; and Lara Angelique Lacson, Founder of Eco Warrior PH  will join the online conversation hosted by House Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda.

This episode will focus on the country’s rising problem with plastic pollution, particularly with single-use plastics which have become a symbol of our throwaway culture. Many single-use plastics are used for mere minutes to hours, yet when disposed of, persist in the environment for hundreds of years.

The Philippines, despite being known for hosting one of the world’s richest marine ecosystems, is also one of the major sources of plastic trash in the world, contributing almost three million metric tons of plastic wastes and 500,000 metric tons of plastic waste leakage per year.

Single-use plastics not only pose pollution problems. Plastic production and incineration contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and hence to climate change.

According to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), Filipinos use 59.7 billion pieces of sachets, 17.5 billion pieces of shopping bags, 16.5 billion pieces of plastic labo bag, and 1.1 billion diapers yearly.

The COVID-19 pandemic has even magnified the problem on single-use plastics as people needed to ensure safety standards that will minimize contamination and further spread of the virus. This has led to utilizing easily disposable items, such as those used for food and other deliveries.

The upcoming episode will feature a local government unit banning single-use plastics, a non-profit organization that seeks to raise awareness on plastic pollution, and an online store focused on reducing single-use plastic.

As an online discussion to promote health, environmental consciousness, and climate-adaptive practices, "Stories for a Better Normal" aims to change the mindset of individuals, families, and communities by demonstrating ways in which a ‘better normal’ can be realized within our communities.

In previous episodes, the online series tackled food gardening and saving seeds, permaculture, good nutrition and diet, native trees, practical sustainability, narrating risk to resilience stories through books, tree pest and disease management, reviving indigenous textiles and crafts, transforming waste into wages, championing sustainable urban mobility, food waste reduction and management, transforming food supply chain, and responsible gardening.

This online discussion is organized in partnership between the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda and the Climate Change Commission, with support from the Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, The Climate Reality Project-Philippines and Mother Earth Foundation.