Act with expediency before plastic drowns us

Plastic pollution in the Philippines is no longer an environmental issue waiting to erupt—it is a crisis unfolding in real time.

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Science and Technology Secretary Renato U. Solidum Jr. stressed this at the International High-Level Forum on NUTEC Plastic as he warned that this crisis is suffocating our seas, burdening coastal communities, and harming our economy. With the country generating approximately 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste annually and consuming 163 million sachets every single day, the Philippines sits precariously as one of the world’s largest contributors to marine plastic pollution.

Despite this reality, are we doing enough to address the problem?

The government has made strides in recent years. The Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act, or Republic Act No. 11898 signed into law in 2022, mandates large companies to recover a portion of their plastic packaging. Local governments have also implemented ordinances banning single-use plastics, while national agencies continue to partner with international organizations to explore innovative waste treatment technologies—including nuclear-based recycling methods under the NUTEC Plastic initiative. These efforts show progress, but they remain fragmented, unevenly enforced, and insufficiently ambitious compared to the scale of the problem. Implementation leaves a lot to be desired.