Luntiang Pilipinas urges Filipinos to junk plastics

An environment group is urging Filipino families to stop using plastics to help stem the tide of plastic garbage polluting the oceans.

In a statement, party-list group Luntiang Pilipinas said Filipinos should adopt a zero-waste lifestyle, as it launched a nationwide campaign this month, declared by the government as zero-waste month.

“A zero-waste lifestyle means using products that can be reused and promoting processes that avoid or eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste,” said Sen. Loren Legarda, Luntian founder.

“It means creating little to no waste [and] veering away from the throwaway culture by reusing, reducing and recycling,” she said.

Single-use plastic

The group said it had joined the campaign with other environment groups for a ban on single-use plastics and will hold forums and meetings with community leaders to push the initiative.

Legarda said Filipinos needed to cut down on waste, as they produced some 40,000 tons of garbage yearly, and that the Philippines was the third largest ocean plastic polluter in the world after China and Indonesia.

“Let us start the year with a resolve to be better citizens of the Earth by adopting an eco-friendly, zero-waste lifestyle,” Legarda said.

As a party-list group, Luntian said it has vowed “to take a more proactive role in the protection and preservation of the environment.”

Congress seats

It seeks to land seats in Congress, by fielding veteran journalist Mike Ubac, actress Ciara Sotto, columnist Mons Romulo and environment advocate Sonia Mendoza as its first, second, third and fourth nominees in the midterm elections.

Legarda said Luntian is rallying support for Senate Bill No. 1948, or the “Single-Use Plastics Regulation and Management Act of 2018,” which is aimed at pushing the Philippines’ transition to a zero-waste lifestyle.

The bill sought to prohibit the importation and use of plastics in establishments and offer incentives to businesses and individuals who would transition to nonplastics.