Stakeholders start preparing for their full compliance to the provisions of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Act of 2022.
The Sustainability Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines last week hosted a workshop on the EPR Act or Republic Act 11898 which lapsed into law on July 23. The law outlines the responsibilities of government, plastic producers, and the waste collection industry in implementing an efficient EPR system.
Under the law, obliged companies are mandated to ensure that nay Dec. 23, 2023, 20 percent of their total plastic product footprint are collected and diverted in accordance with the law, increasing by 20 percent increments every year until the maximum of 80 percent required by law is attained by Dec. 31, 2028. This covers all plastic packaging, from flexible sachets to rigid containers and materials, as well as plastic bags and polystyrene.
Failure to comply will result in hefty fines ranging from P5 million to P20 million and automatic suspension of the business permit.
While the implementing rules and regulations of the law are yet to be finalized, industry organizations like the Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) are working with the government to provide an operational framework through a credit-scheme EPR.
The framework entails the trading of Waste Diversion Credits (WDC). The EPR scheme allows for a level playing field among FMCGs and other footprint owners.
PARMS recently signed with SGV & Co., Climate Change and Sustainability Services partner, a memorandum of agreement to formalize the technical partnership for the implementation of the pilot EPR WDC Scheme of PARMS which provides a market-based mechanism for obliged enterprises to ensure that their product packaging-related waste does not end up in landfills or in nature.
