EcoWaste Coalition Refuses to Sign NEAPP Resolution, Urges Ban on Single-Use Plastics

15 April 2025, Quezon City. The EcoWaste Coalition has formally declined to sign NSWMC Resolution No. 1707, A Resolution Declaring the List of Non-environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging Materials, citing its failure to address the escalating plastic pollution crisis in the country. The resolution, issued by the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC), identifies only four products as non-environmentally acceptable, most of which are already regulated under existing laws.

Adopted in December 2024 following a series of technical working group meetings beginning September 2024, the resolution lists:

• Paints with lead content exceeding 90 parts per million (ppm)
• Toys, school supplies, and children’s accessories containing phthalate
• Water pipes and other products containing lead
• Feeding bottles and sippy cups made with bisphenol A (BPA)

The EcoWaste Coalition emphasized that these items have already been restricted or banned through existing regulations such as the Chemical Control Order for Lead and Lead Compounds and the FDA Circular No. 2019-004, which bans Bisphenol A (BPA) in infant feeding bottles and sippy cups classified as childcare article products. Meanwhile, single-use plastics, a major contributor to the country’s worsening waste crisis, remain glaringly absent from the list.

This move comes despite the Court of Appeals’ ruling in Oceana v. NSWMC, which compelled the Commission to issue a list of NEAPP in accordance with Section 29 of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000. The law clearly mandates the formulation and regular updating of a list of products and packaging materials deemed environmentally unacceptable.

“For 24 years, the Commission's inaction has stalled the enforcement of Section 48(10) of RA 9003, which prohibits the production and use of non-environmentally acceptable plastics and packaging materials,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the EcoWaste Coalition.

She added, “As members of the Commission, we are legally and morally bound to fulfill our mandate to protect the environment and ensure effective waste management, as clearly outlined in RA 9003. The Commission's persistent failure to issue a comprehensive NEAPP list represents a severe lapse in carrying out this responsibility. And the inclusion of only four items, already regulated under existing laws, reflects a negligent and superficial approach to this critical issue – all these past two decades.”

The Coalition also highlighted that many alternatives to single-use plastics are now readily available in the market. While RA 9003 requires that alternatives should not exceed 10% of the cost of the original product to be considered viable, the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act or RA 11995 now mandates a more holistic approach.

The PENCAS Act institutionalizes the consideration of the "depletion, degradation, and restoration of natural capital" in policy and decision-making, emphasizing that the true environmental and societal costs of unsustainable products must be accounted for, not merely their sticker price.

EcoWaste Coalition also pointed out the inconsistency of NSWMC Resolution No. 1707 with the Commission’s earlier recognition of the dangers of single-use plastics through NSWMC Resolution No. 1428, which classified plastic straws and stirrers as NEAPP, and NSWMC Resolution No. 1363, which also addresses harmful plastic products.

The group reiterated its call for the NSWMC to take a bolder and science-based stance by including single-use plastics such as sachets, multilayer packaging, disposable cutlery, and plastic bags in the NEAPP list, and to regularly update this list in line with evolving evidence and policy obligations.

References:

Copy of NEAPP Resolution: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tHjdA_xUvx-deIcWwSHPHcVNEHyGRYOM/view?usp=sharing

Letter to DENR: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JUuzK3XEFZVlLf2nDjhpA3EuE6T3hp9N/view?usp=sharing