Civil-society organizations pushing for a zero waste and a toxics-free Philippines are appealing to the Marcos administration to adapt key measures to protect the country from the detrimental impacts of the global waste trade.
At the recently concluded General Assembly of the EcoWaste Coalition, a resolution was passed urging President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to ratify the Basel Convention Ban Amendment, an international law prohibiting hazardous waste exports from developed to developing countries.
To date, 101 parties have ratified the said amendment, which entered into force on December 5, 2019.
In a news release, they further asked the President to declare a national ban on all waste import to plug loopholes in current regulations that permit importing recyclable materials containing hazardous substances.
“These twin policy measures—ratifying the Basel Convention Ban Amendment and declaring a comprehensive ban on waste imports—are essential to provide our country with a strong legal protection against dumping and ensure that the right of every Filipino to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is upheld,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition.
“It’s our turn to shut our doors to illegal and ‘legal’ waste imports and send an unequivocal message to waste brokers and traffickers that we are dumping grounds no more.”
“The Marcos administration must make the ratification of the Basel Convention Ban Amendment a priority, as it is a crucial step in protecting Filipinos’ right to a healthy environment. Beyond safeguarding the Philippines from hazardous waste and all the associated risks created by waste trade, it safeguards our nation from exploitation by wealthier states who must be stopped from externalizing the costs of their waste generation to lower-income countries and be made accountable for their own waste,” said Marian Ledesma, Zero Waste Campaigner, Greenpeace Philippines.
Aside from ratifying the Basel Convention Ban Amendment and imposing a national ban on waste imports, the EcoWaste Coalition and its member groups are also urging the authorities to stop plastic pollution at source, ban single-use plastics, list non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging for phase-out, and declare government’s commitment to a zero waste and non-toxic circular economy.