Peña: The Plastic EPR Law

While the public’s attention was on the first few days of the Bongbong Marcos Presidency, something environmentally significant quietly took place. I did not even notice it in the news. A law that will address plastic pollution took effect. Though found wanting by some environmental groups, I believe it’s a major victory for anti-plastic advocates.

The landmark piece of legislation is the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022, or Republic Act No. 11898, which lapsed into law on July 23, 2022. It amended RA 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, inserting a provision that institutionalizes extended producer responsibility as a practical approach to efficient waste management and adapts the concept of circular economy.

Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) is defined in RA 11898 as the environmental policy approach and practice that requires producers to be environmentally responsible throughout the life cycle of a product, especially its post-consumer or end-of-life stage.

The EPR law also reconstituted the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) originally created under RA 9003. The number of non-government organization (NGO) representatives was increased from one to three. Three government agencies were removed namely DPWH, TESDA and PIA. The leagues of governors, city and municipal mayors were likewise excluded.

The NSWMC shall have direct supervision over the National Ecology Center (NEC). The Assistant Director of the Environmental

Management Bureau was tasked to head the NEC.

Under RA 11898, large companies with total assets over P1 billion are required to recover the plastic packaging waste they produce. These include sachets, labels, laminates, single or multi-layered plastics, beverage and food containers, containers for personal care and cosmetic products, lids and caps, plastic forks and spoons, plates, straws, sticks, tarps, signages, and the like. Also included are plastic bags and polystyrene (popularly known as Styrofoam), foamed cups, plates, and bowls.

Recovery can be done by buying back the material or waste from consumers and putting up collection points where the material or waste can be dropped off after consumption then collected for reuse or recycling. It can also be done through clean-up of waste from coastal areas, public roads and other places or through the establishment of recycling, composting, thermal treatment, and other waste diversion or disposal facilities

There shall be progressive recovery rates starting from 20% by December 31, 2023 to 80% by December 31, 2028. If companies failed to meet their targets, they will have to pay twice the cost of recovery and diversion of their plastic footprint or its shortfall, or the appropriate fine whichever is higher. The fine is P5 million to P10 million for 1st offense, P10 million to P15 million for 2nd offense P15 million to P20 million for 3rd offense.

Apart from penalties, the law also has a reward system. Large enterprises can apply for tax incentives for their EPR activities, under the section on tax incentives of the National Internal Revenue Code. The EPR expenses of large enterprises and other private enterprises that volunteer to do EPR schemes will be considered “necessary expenses deductible from gross income,” subject to substantiation requirements under the tax code.