Villar backs DENR on ‘EPR’

SENATOR Cynthia Villar said she is backing the proposal of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to amend certain provisions of RA 9003 (Solid Waste Management Act of 2001) to incorporate ‘EPR’ (extended producers’ responsibility) among the country’s local manufacturers by making them responsible for the management of their plastic wastes.

Villar made the manifestation during a committee hearing of the Senate Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Sen. Imee Marcos, May 25, 2021.

Looking towards post-COVID 19 scenario, Villar said companies producing plastic wastes will have to recycle their plastic wastes or link them to their production. She said local government units (LGUs) can also transfer their plastic wastes to factories, such as cement manufacturing companies which could be recycled to produce energy for the cement plant.

Villar said for the purpose, she had already filed Senate Bill No. 1331 or the ‘Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2020’ which seeks to institutionalize the practice of EPR in waste management (Screen grab/Senate PRIB).