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Saturday, July 16, 2005
Councilor asks businesses: Shift to paper packaging, use less plastic
To reduce non-biodegradable waste in Cebu City, a city councilor wants the business sector to consider using packaging materials other than plastic and to increase use of biodegradable packaging products.
Councilor Arsenio Pacaña is also advocating the use of paper bags in grocery stores. Or, shoppers should bring baskets or cloth bags when shopping, he said.
In a proposed resolution, he urged the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) to encourage manufacturers and suppliers of plastics to study the feasibility of adopting alternative measures to lessen the dependence on plastic products.
Pacaña said the use of plastics should be limited to non-food items.
“While it may be convenient to use plastics, it would also be wise if manufacturers and suppliers of plastic would consider the cost of this convenience, considering the health risks and environmental hazards it poses,” said the councilor.
Filipinos, he said, should learn to adopt environmental conservation methods practiced in other countries, where paper bags are used for bread and other food items, and shoppers are required to bring plastic bags or baskets for their purchases.
He also suggested to the business sector the possibility of selling plastic bags at a higher cost as a way of regulating and controlling its use and proliferation.
Pacaña said the use of plastics should be avoided as this contributes to garbage problems at the Inayawan landfill and to the clogging of the city’s esteros, canals and drainage system.
The councilor made the recommendations to the business sector after the City Government implemented the new solid waste management program, where biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes are collected separately. (LCR)
(July 16, 2005 issue)
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