On August 6, 2024, the Philippine Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) published a notification, emphasizing the critical importance of enterprises registering their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs. This initiative is central to achieving the country's ambitious goal of reducing plastic waste by 40% by the end of 2024. The EPR programs focus on waste reduction, recovery, and diversion, aligning with the EPR Act, which happened to celebrate its second anniversary on August 12, 2024.
Key points
1. EPR Act's role in circular economy
The EPR Act is a significant legislative step towards establishing a circular economy in the Philippines. It aims to address the rapid growth of the plastic industry and the challenges of managing plastic waste effectively.
The EPR Act mandates the establishment and the gradual implementation of EPR programs specifically targeting plastic packaging. These programs are designed to manage plastic waste efficiently, reduce the production and importation of low-reusability plastic packaging, and promote plastic neutrality through effective recovery and diversion schemes.
2. Obliged Enterprises (OEs) and environmental responsibility
The notification underscores the crucial role of Obliged Enterprises (OEs), which include brand owners, product manufacturers, and importers. These entities are responsible for ensuring the environmental responsibility throughout a product's lifecycle, particularly its post-consumer or end-of-life stage.
3. Increase in EPR program registration number
Since the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) launched the EPR campaign, there has been a notable increase in registered EPR programs. The number of registrations has grown from 667 initially to 917 as of May 6, 2024, reflecting the heightened awareness and commitment to environmental stewardship. Among these, 129 programs come from large enterprises and 298 from micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
4. Policy supports for EPR compliance
To support the implementation of the EPR Act, the DENR has issued several policy instruments, including DAO 2024-04, which provides guidelines and templates for EPR compliance reporting and auditing. This aims to standardize the auditing and reporting process and establish rules and procedures for the accreditation of auditors. (Read ChemLinked's previous report for more details.)
5. Progress and future targets
According to EPR submissions, unaudited plastic footprints in 2023 amounted to 566,580,139.76 kilos of collected plastic packaging, with an estimated 113,385,858.10 kilos diverted. According to an official, with continued efforts in waste collection, recovery, and cleanup, the Philippines is on track to meet its 20% plastic waste recovery target for 2023, pending validation of the National Ecology Center’s EPR Compliance Audit Report (ECAR). By the end of 2024, the goal is to recover 40% of the plastic waste footprint.
