THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said that obliged enterprises (OEs) violating the EPR Act of 2022 would be fined p5 million to p20 million and face the automatic suspension of their business permits.

Republic Act (RA) 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, lapsed into law in July 2022. Based on the DENR’s estimates, up to $890 million worth of plastics are lost each year in the absence of a massive recovery and recycling effort that RA 11898 aims to put in place.

“Any obliged enterprise that fails to register under the EPR Act of 2022 shall be fined,” Environment Undersecretary for Policy, Planning and International Affairs Jonas Leones said during the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) campaign launch on Friday at the DENR office in Quezon City.

OEs are the owners or manufacturers and importers that sell and supply commodities for the use of the general public.

Leones explained that there are two types of OE, the large scale, and micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) with total assets exceeding P100 million.

“But those MSME who do not belong in the aforementioned type are not required but highly encouraged,” he said.

Leones said the penalty shall be imposed whether or not noncompliance is the result of failure to register, falsification of documents or employment of any scheme to maliciously evade the responsibility of an enterprise under the EPR Law.

He added that the first offense will be penalized from P5 million to P10 million. Second offense will be P10 million to P15 million and third offense will be not less than P15 million but not exceeding P20 million and automatic suspension of business permit.

For her part, Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said that 70 percent of the material value of plastics is lost each year, equivalent to $790 million to $890 million annually.

“Circularity, therefore, is not just linked to environmental sustainability. Its process can yield multiple system-wide benefits beyond resource efficiency and emissions reduction,” she said.

Loyzaga added that the country generates roughly 61,000 metric tons of solid waste daily.

“Estimates vary, but we understand that between 12 [and] 24 percent of that waste is plastic in various forms,” she said.

The Environment secretary added that the country uses more than 163 million plastic sachet packs, 48 million shopping bags and 45 million thin-film bags a day. Of these, 33 percent is disposed of in landfills and dumpsites, and around 35 percent is leaked to the environment.

Furthermore, Yulo-Loyzaga said that “the war on plastics will always be here unless we change our behaviors,” adding the country needs to produce and consume what is actually needed.

Promoting the circular economy

For her part, Sen. Cynthia Villar, the principal author of RA 11898, said the law will also promote awareness of the circular economy, an academic model that intends to extend product lifespan. She added the law is also a “big leap” toward sustainable development.

“The EPR Law is not the single solution to eliminate all our waste problems, but it is certainly a big leap forward in the right direction,” said Villar during the EPR campaign launch at the DENR office in Quezon City.

The senator, who chairs the Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, reiterated that the EPR Act parallels global initiatives to promote responsible consumption and production.

“This law is more than a national initiative; it is our contribution to the global effort for responsible consumption and production aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal No. 12,” she added.

With the Philippines ranking third among the biggest contributors of plastic waste in Asia, Villar said RA 11898 would encourage the country to recalibrate its actions toward waste management.

“By embracing the EPR Law, we are leading in innovative waste management and affirming our commitment to a global shift toward responsible consumption, production and sustainability,” the senator said.

Under the law, incentives will be provided to enterprises, including producer responsibility organizations, to motivate them to participate effectively in solid waste management.

Department of Finance Director Karla Espinosa said that they are eyeing participation with the DENR in a technical working group to craft specific policies and regulations to govern the availability of the incentives.

“I would like to believe that our private sector is on board with the purpose of this law, its aims and the vision it has,” Espinosa added.