House approves on final reading bill regulating single-use plastics

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading the proposed measure regulating the production, distribution and use of single-use plastic products.

Voting 190-0-1, the lower chamber approved House Bill 9147 or the “Single-use Plastic Products Regulation Act.”

The bill aims to protect life on land and water from the hazards posed by plastic pollution, and ensure that non-compostable single-use synthetic plastic products deemed necessary to society do not leak into nature.

The measure also aims to prolong the service life of sanitary landfills as well as to promote "circularity through reduction, reuse and recycling of plastic garbage.

Among the key provisions of the bill orders the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to formulate a phase-out plan on single-use plastic wastes, with components on reducing consumption, increasing recovery, keeping producers accountable, developing alternatives, and raising awareness. —NB, GMA News