Matanglawin: The
Philippines Growing
Plastic Problem
Presented by:
Kiana D. Ruta
Chelsea Marie P. Castillo
Frank C. Francisco
BSCA 2-A
The United Nations called this problem ’one of the great
environmental challenges of all time’. Plastic pollution has
been an ongoing problem but this epidemic now comes with
various solid and even lucrative solutions. Yet the problem
persists. Why? Humans, that’s why. We actually consume
about 300 million tons of plastic every year. When not
properly disposed, they don’t just end up in a landfill. More
than eight million tons of plastic gets dumped in our ocean
and circle the earth about four times in a year. (Perez,
2019)
We are in favor that the Philippines and not just our country considered the
Plastic as a huge problem towards the environmental aspect.
According to this video, Kim Atienza stated that we are consuming 1
million plastic bags every minute, 2.7 millions tones of plastic
wastes every year are came from the Philippines, and only 5% of
plastic are recycled because of the improper waste segregation.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fo_CDHjSdk
According to the Ocean Conservancy McKinsey center for business
and environment (2015) that the Philippines is the largest plastic
producers in the world where China rank as 1 followed by Indonesia.
According to Dr. Jenna Jambeck’s 2015 ocean plastics study–one of
the most comprehensive ocean plastics studies to date–the nation
stands as the third largest global contributor to the eight million tons of
plastics that are estimated to flood our oceans each year. Like many
rapidly-urbanizing countries, the Philippines struggles with
unsustainable plastic production and consumption and a waste
management infrastructure that relies heavily on open dumping sites,
giving plastics an easy path into waterways.
Czarina Constantino, who spearheads the World Wide Fund
for Nature’s (WWF) global campaign in the Philippines to stop
the flow of plastics into nature by 2030, agreed that the lack of
waste disposal facilities is one of the main causes of plastic
pollution in the country. Poorly resourced municipal
governments are the reason for this.
According to a 2018 report by WWF, up to 74 per cent of
plastic in the Philippines that ends up in the ocean is from
waste that has already been collected.
The report said that 386,000 tonnes of waste are leaked
into the ocean every year because of hauler dumping—where
private hauler companies unload their trucks into water bodies
on the way to proper disposal sites in order to cut costs—and
because of poorly located dumps situated near waterways.
The low recycling rate of low-value plastic material
contributes to the marine litter problem, Constantino added.
Eligio Ildefonso, the EMB’s national solid waste management
commission executive director, supports a ban on single-use
plastic items throughout the country. “Single-use plastic is
what its name says, for single-use,” he said. “It cannot be
recycled and reused; people have no motivation to recover it.
It has no further use so it should be discouraged.”
Instead of plastic bags, Ildefonso encourages the use of eco-
bags when buying wet and dry goods. “Eco-bags can be
reused; you can wash them; they do not contribute to solid
waste,” he pinpointed.
Everywhere we go, plastics are scattered everywhere
even though there are trash bags and cans. Plastic is not
the only huge problem with this but also the human itself.
The simplest way we could do to contribute is to start
within ourselves, we must be responsible enough
because the lives of our future generations relies on us.
Applying and adapting the 3R’s at home is a possible
way for us to contribute for the sustainability of our
environment. We believe that if we will have the same
goal and work together, we will have a brighter place
tomorrow.
References
Dudez Perez, “Philippines Has a Major Problem with Plastic Pollution. Here’s What
They’re Doing About it”, February 25 2019, retrieved from
https://ecowarriorprincess.net/2019/02/philippines-major-problem-plastic-pollution-
heres-what-theyre-doing-about-
it/#:~:text=Plastic%20pollution%20has%20been%20an,solid%20and%20even%20l
ucrative%20solutions.&text=More%20than%20eight%20million%20tons,of%2020%
20typhoons%20a%20year
“Turning the Tide on Ocean Plastic Pollution in the Philippines”, July 21, 2020,
retrieved last January 21, 2020 from https://urban-links.org/insight/turning-the-tide-
on-ocean-plastic-pollution-in-the-philippines/
Hannah Alcoseba Hernandez, “Why plastic-clogged Philippines must face up to
dearth of waste disposal and recycling”, June 10,2020 retrieved from
https://www.eco-business.com/news/why-plastic-clogged-philippines-must-face-up-
to-dearth-of-waste-disposal-and-recycling/
