Extended Producer Responsibility

National Framework for All Types of Product Wastes

Sec. 44-A. National Framework for Extended Producer Responsiblity.

The Department, in consultation with the NSWMC, shall formulate a national framework on EPR for all types of product wastes.

The framework shall include the following components:

• Reduction of non-environment friendly products which may include the following activities and strategies:
  • adoption of reusable products, or redesign of the products to improve its reusability, recyclability, or retrievability
  • inclusion of recycled content or recycled materials in a product
  • adoption of appropriate product refilling systems for retailers;
  • viable reduction rates plan
  • information and education campaign schemes
  • appropriate labeling of products, including the information thereon for the proper disposal of the waste product.
• Product waste recovery programs aimed at effectively preventing waste from leaking to the environment, which may include the following activities:
  • waste recovery schemes through redemption, huy-hack, offsetting, or any method or strategy that will efficiently result in the high retrievability, high recyclability, and resource recovery of waste products;
  • diversion of recovered waste into value chains and value-adding useful products through recycling and other sustainable methods
  • transportation of recovered waste to the appropriate composting, recychng, or other diversion or disposal site in the country
  • clean-up of waste leaked to coastal areas, public roads, and other sites;
  • establishment of commercial or industrial scale recychng, composting, thermal treatment, and other waste diversion or disposal facihties for waste products, when investment therein is viable; and
  • partnership with LGUs, communities, and the informal waste sectors

Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Packaging

Sec. 44-B. Obliged Enterprises Under This Article

Product producers obliged to implement EPR are the large enterprises that generate plastic packaging waste:

MSMEs are not be covered.

MSMEs are encouraged to practice EPR voluntarily, or be a part of the network of obliged enterprises or producer responsibility organizations practicing EPR.

Sec. 44-C. Plastic Packaging Covered by EPR

For Article 2 of Chapter 3A, plastic packaging are products utilized to carry, protect, or pack goods for transportation, distribution, and sale.

Plastic packaging includes:

• Sachets, labels, laminates and other flexible plastic packaging products, whether single layer or multi-layered with plastics or other materials
• Rigid plastic packaging products, whether layered with any other materials, which include containers for beverages, food, home, personal care and cosmetic products, including their coverings, caps, or lids and other necessities or promotional items, such as cutlery, plates, drinking straws, or sticks, tarps, signage, or labels
• Plastic bags, which include single-use plastic bags, for carrying or transporting of goods, and provided or utilized at the point of sale
• Polystyrene

Sec. 44-D. EPR Mandates

Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 44-A, obhged enterprises shall, within 6 months from the effectivity of this act, establish or phase-in EPR programs for plastic packaging to achieve efficient management of plastic packaging waste, reduced production, importation, supply or use of plastic packaging deemed low in reusability, recyclability or retrievabihty, and plastic neutrahty through efficient recovery and diversion schemes.

The programs under this section may include the activities and strategies stated under paragraphs (a) and (b) of Section 44-A: Provided, That their mechanisms and strategies are submitted to the NSWMC, through the Department. Obliged enterprises shall institute an EPR program either individually or collectively, whether with or without a PRO.

Sec. 44-E. EPR Registration

An obliged enterprise or the PRO shall register EPR programs with the NSWMC, through the Department.

The NSWMC shall ensure that the EPR programs submitted by an obhged enterprise or PRO, as the case may be, include the following information:

• Obliged enterprise or PRO information, and contact information of the person responsible for its EPR
• Specific type of packaging materials as covered by Section 44-C, and product brands
• Whether the EPR program is to be implemented individually, collectively, or through a PRO
• Verifiable volume or weight of the plastic packaging brought into the market within a specified period
• Target volume or weight of plastic packaging waste for recovery, reuse, and recycUng
• Other EPR programs, such as the redesign of plastic packaging to improve reuse or recyclability
• Labeling of packaging materials to facihtate recovery, reuse, recycHng or proper disposal of packaging materials
• Status of implementation of the EPR mechanisms
• Status of compliance

As an initial comphance with the provisions of this section, obhged enterprises or PRO shall submit and register their EPR program to the NSWMC, through the Department, within six (6) months upon the effectivity of this act.

The Department, through the Environmental Management Bureau, and in coordination with the NSWMC, shall monitor and evaluate the compliance of obliged enterprises or their PROs with their respective EPR programs. For this purpose, obhged enterprises or their PROs shall be required to submit annual comphance reports.

Sec. 44-F. Compliance Period for Plastic Packaging Recovery Programs

To give the obliged enterprises and PROs time to adjust to their EPR duties and responsibilities and improve their performance over time, obliged enterprises shall estabhsh and phase-in recovery programs that will achieve plastic neutrality.

The programs may include the activities stated under paragraph (b) of Section 44-A.

Obliged enterprises that generate either rigid or flexible plastic packaging shall recover or offset their respective plastic packaging footprint.

The following targets for the recovery of plastic product footprint generated during the immediately preceding year are:

Obliged enterprises shall submit the report of their compliance including appropriate documentation to the Department.

Sec. 44-G. Audits

Obliged enterprises or their PROs shall establish and implement an auditing system to monitor and assess their compliance performance with this Act and their EPR programs.

For this purpose, the obhged enterprises or their PRO shall engage an independent third-party auditor to certify the veracity of the reported plastic product footprint generation, recovery, and EPR program compliance, using uniform standards estabhshed by the Department.

The audited report shall be submitted by the obhged enterprises or their PROs to the Department.

The certified reports on plastic product footprint generated and recovered by the obliged enterprises shall be made available to the public through the website of the Department:

Provided, that a record, report, or information, or particular portion thereof deemed by the Department as confidential, shall not be made public when such would divulge trade secrets, production or sales figures, or methods and processes unique to the enterprise that would otherwise tend to adversely affect its competitive position.