DENR: 155 show cause letters issued to firms over plastic waste

The Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued 155 show cause letters to companies over alleged failure to recycle their plastic waste, according to the Palace on Thursday.

According to Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro, the DENR is monitoring whether companies are complying with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Law by auditing their recovery rates.

“Ang ahensya ay nag-issue ng 155 show cause letters sa mga potential obliged enterprises na hindi tumutupad sa kanilang EPR obligations,” Castro said, reading the department’s report.

(The agency issued 155 show-cause letters to potential obligated enterprises that were not complying with their EPR obligations.)

“Ang EPR Act ay nagsisilbing carrot-and-stick mechanism kung saan obligado ang mga producer na bawiin at i-recycle ang kanilang plastic packaging waste,” she added.

(The EPR Act serves as a carrot-and-stick mechanism that requires producers to recover and recycle their plastic packaging waste.)

Castro said that companies that fail to recover their plastic waste footprint or fail to comply with the law will face multimillion-peso fines.

Meanwhile, the DENR reported that some companies have exceeded their targets.

In 2024, Castro said that audited recovery rates reached 59.98% for rigid plastics and 56.33% for flexible plastics, which is higher than the target of 40%. She said the target for 2026 is 60%.

This comes as several areas experienced flooding due to Habagat rains.—LDF, GMA News