Overview on Plastic Waste: The Philippine Perspective

Plastics are the most ubiquitous materials that modern society depends on and plastic waste has become one of the most serious challenges of modern society. The challenge of plastic waste encompasses industry, commerce, culture, and society. This paper is divided into four sections: I. What are plastics? II. How are plastics used in society? III. How can we manage plastic wastes? IV. How can the Philippines manage plastic waste under RA 9003? Plastics are the designer materials of the modern age. The properties of plastics can be controlled by the choice of polymer and chemical additives. Although there are numerous types of polymers, only six are clearly recyclable polymers. Because of its volume of use and visibility, particular attention has been focused on single-use plastics, in particular thin plastic bags and sachets. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly increased the consumption of single-use plastic, in particular for medical applications. The other large group of polymers, called thermosets, are not recyclable. The major campaign to address plastic waste — the 3Rs, reduce, reuse, recycle – has been unsuccessful in addressing this problem because this campaign has been focused mainly on the consumer and plastics were not designed to be recyclable. Recently, several approaches have been proposed, such as extended producer responsibility (EPR), the circular economy, and the addition of recover and redesign to give the 5Rs. These approaches can be used to strengthen the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003) and prepare the Philippines for a circular economy.