The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Regional Office 3 has prohibited some single-use plastics within its premises to reduce waste generation and protect river systems against plastic pollution.

In his memorandum, DENR Regional Executive Director Paquito Moreno Jr. stated that employees and food service providers would be strictly prohibited from using plastic bottles, cups, straws, cutlery, thin-filmed sando bags, styrofoam, and plastic take-out containers.

“We consider this initiative as a big leap in our fight against plastic pollution, which poses danger to the environment and hampers the fulfillment of cleaning our water bodies, specifically those that drain to Manila Bay,” Moreno said.

A “no baonan, no food” policy would be likewise imposed in the DENR regional office, where bringing of individual food containers and eco-bags would be mandatory among employees before buying food and goods from the canteen.

Moreno said that during in-house meetings and trainings in the regional office, participants would be required to bring their own tumblers, while caterers would be advised to provide water dispenser and drinking glasses.

“We hope that this practice would be adopted by all regional agencies here in the government center including the local government units to create a big impact in saving our environment,” he added.

Studies show that about 2.7 million tons of plastic waste are generated in the Philippines each year wherein 20 percent is estimated to end up in the ocean.

In Central Luzon, a large volume of collected wastes from cleanup activities are made up of single-use plastics, such as plastic bags, bottles, straws, and food wrappers. (PIA 3)