The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will prohibit the use of plastic straw and plastic stirrers following the approval of the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) to ban the use of said products.
Plastic straws and stirrers are considered single-use plastics that are non-environmentally acceptable.
According to DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda, the phasing out of the said plastic products will greatly help in reducing waste in the environment and prevent the destruction of biodiversity. It takes hundreds of years before these products disintegrate.
The DENR resolution will undergo ratification and is expected to be implemented in 2022. The department is looking into more products that can be banned due to their threat to the environment. – Report from Cleizl Pardilla
