Cong. Rufus joins panel discussing Extended Producers Responsibility act to reduce plastic waste in the Philippines

Cong. Rufus joins panel discussing Extended Producers Responsibility act to reduce plastic waste in the Philippines Featured

Rufus Rodriguez
News
01 November 2023
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As principal author of Republic Act 11898 or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022, Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Cong. Rufus Rodriguez sat as one of the panel members during the “Rethinking Plastics: EPR Paving the Way towards Circularity” Forum held in Mallberry Suites.

He was joined by DENR Undersecretary Atty. Jonas Leones, Nestle Philippines Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Affairs Mr. Jose Uy III, and GIZ-BMB Project Manager Dr. Johannes Paul.

Cong. Rufus fought for the passage of the EPR law in Congress, which was approved last July 2022, as he found it necessary to oblige businesses to adopt programs aimed at reducing plastic waste through the reduction of non-environment friendly packaging products, recycling, and waste recovery, among other methods.

The EPR law mandates the compliance of large enterprises to meet the targets set by the law to achieve plastic neutrality by getting back or recovering the plastic products and plastic packaging of their products by the year 2028. Failure to register and comply with the EPR Act will result to fines ranging from P5 million to P20 million.

Cong. Rufus, during the panel discussion, underscored the importance of establishing recycling facilities all over the country, specially in CdeO (only 9% of all plastic wastes in the country are recycled) to help solve the plastic wastes problem. He will file a bill giving more incentives to recycling facilities.

Moreover, Cong. Rufus committed to filing legislation that shall mandate the inclusion of proper waste management and segregation in the curriculum for basic education.

“Compliance to any law needs more education on the subject”, Cong. Rufus explained.

According to Cong. Rufus, the proper implementation of the EPR law will be one crucial step forward towards a more sustainable and environmentally-responsible Philippines.

Recognizing the interconnectedness of the environment to health, poverty, employment, and education, Cong. Rufus is determined to develop comprehensive, relevant, and inclusive legislation and programs.

#MrPerformance
#FighterParaSaKagayanon
#KatawhanUnaSaTanan

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