MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines
(WWF-Philippines) is releasing a white paper to help the Philippine government in the
upcoming implementation of the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Law.
After years of dialogues, the Extended Producers Responsibility Act of 2022 finally lapsed into
law last July 23, 2022. Right after its passage, the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources (DENR) started multi-sectoral consultations to craft the Implementing Rules and
Regulations (IRR) of the EPR Law.
WWF-Philippines lauds this monumental achievement in the battle against plastic pollution as
the EPR scheme is a critical policy tool that holds producers accountable for the full life cycle of
their products and packaging. EPR is an environmental policy approach that emerged in the
1990s and is now increasingly recognized globally as a useful tool for accelerating the transition
to sustainable waste management and a circular economy. This scheme encourages waste
reduction through the elimination of unnecessary packaging of products, the development of
more environmentally friendly packaging design, and the recovery of plastic packaging from the
trash in order to reuse or recycle them back into the production process.
To successfully implement the EPR Law in the country, WWF-Philippines, through discussions
with other stakeholders from different sectors, highlights several key points that the IRR must
include and give clarity.
First, the IRR must clarify the role and powers of the Producer Responsibility Operator (PRO) as
they will play a huge role in the implementation of the EPR system. Public registries and
information data banks should also be readily available for monitoring and guidance.
Secondly, eco-modulation or the adjustment of the EPR fees based on the packaging of the
product should be emphasized and ensure that the fees will support the improvement of our solid
waste management system. Investments should also be made in research and development,
technology sharing, and the reduction of plastic waste in the country.
Another important point that WWF-Philippines underscores is labeling, which is an important
aspect to facilitate proper re-use, recycling, return-to-manufacturer, and other means to circulate
the material in the system. Lastly, EPR programs should be inclusive and integrated into the
existing solid waste management system of our country.
“We at WWF-Philippines commends the Philippine government for taking concrete actions
against plastic pollution. EPR Law is a very important instrument that will shape the future of our initiatives against plastic pollution. Our work now is to implement together with all
stakeholders and ensure that we are adopting a human-rights-based approach in doing so.”, said
Czarina Constantino – Panopio, Program Manager for No Plastics in Nature initiative.
According to studies by WWF-Philippines, Filipinos each consume a yearly average of 20kgs of
plastics, and 15.43kgs of it becomes total plastic waste. The country is also suffering from a very
low plastic recycling rate of 9%. The report further estimates that the Philippines leaks about
35% of plastic waste into the environment.
WWF-Philippines actively pushes for actions against plastic pollution through its “No Plastic in
Nature Initiative”. It is WWF’s global initiative to stop the flow of plastics entering nature by
2030 through the elimination of unnecessary plastics, doubling reuse, recycling, and recovery,
and ensuring remaining plastic is sourced responsibly. Through this initiative, WWF-Philippines
has been working with cities on plastic leakage, policymakers to advocate for a global treaty on
plastic pollution and EPR, businesses to transition to circular business models, and the general
public to campaign and act.
To know more about WWF-Philippines and its initiatives, please visit https://wwf.org.ph/