DENR reiterates call for EPR compliance

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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reiterated its calls for large-scale entrepreneurs and companies to comply with the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act.

The EPR Act mandates large enterprises that generate plastic packaging to establish programs for comprehensive management of this waste throughout its lifecycle. The law emphasizes on waste reduction, recovery and diversion as well as the use of methods like reduction of non-environmentally friendly packaging and prevention of plastic waste from leaking into the environment.

Jonas Leones, DENR undersecretary for policy, planning and international affairs, said at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public forum yesterday, the implementation of the policy is still experiencing “birth pains.”

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Under the law, obliged enterprises who fail to register their EPR plans can be penalized.

Also, obliged enterprises who fail to meet their submitted EPR targets can also be slapped with penalties.

Leones said companies which violate EPR provisions face fines  of  at least P5 million for the first offense and around P10 to P15 million for the second offense and  a fine equivalent to the cost of production of goods, if proven to be repeat violators.

“Money is not really the problem since they can pay. What is difficult here is the sanctions that may be slapped by the government. They can be issued with cease-and-desist orders since this is a regulation that they need to follow,” Leones said.

The law specifically obliges companies with total assets exceeding P100 million to have their EPR programs registered.

The DENR has assured large-scale entrepreneurs and companies of its maximum assistance in complying with the EPR Act.

While registration is not mandatory for micro, small and medium enterprises, these companies are also encouraged to register their EPR programs with the DENR.

Enterprises may also apply for incentives after undergoing the approval process outlined in the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

By the end of the year, the EPR law also requires obliged enterprises to demonstrate the recovery and diversion of 20 percent of their 2022 plastic packaging footprint. The target will then progressively increase each year, with the goal of recovering at least 80 percent of the plastic waste generated by the industry by 2028.

According to latest data from the DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau, there have been 745 EPR registrations, totaling approximately 535 million kilograms of plastic footprint registered, with a diversion target of around 107 million kilograms by year-end.

Citing data from the Department of Trade and Industry, the DENR said there are an estimated 4,000 large enterprises in the Philippines that are required to register their EPR programs.

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