The Municipality of Bauang is implementing an approved ordinance prohibiting the use of plastic bags on dry goods and regulating its use on wet goods. This is a part of a global environmental campaign on the reduction of non-biodegradable waste such as plastic bags.
The objective of the ordinance (Resolution No. 194, Series of 2011) is to reduce if not totally eliminate the use of plastic bags as packaging materials and to encourage the public in using alternative packaging materials such as bayong (woven bags),katsa (cloth bags), banban (bamboo strip), paper bags, and other similar materials and to bring with them their own recyclable and reusable bags/containers when going to the public market.
No business establishment shall utilize plastic bags as packaging materials for dry goods (textiles, clothing, etc) while those trading wet goods are prohibited to use plastic material as primary packaging material. Likewise, no business establishment shall offer or sell plastic bags.
Aside from the use and selling of plastic bags, improper disposal of plastic wastes and cleaning of fish such as removal of scales and internal organs within the fish vending premises are also prohibited.
First offense requires a fine of Php500.00, second offense is Php1,000 and third offense Php 2,500 and in the case of business establishment, cancellation of their license to operate for a period of six months.
This non-biodegradable waste such as plastic bags and other residual waste contribute a huge volume to the municipal dumpsite while those uncollected clog canals, creeks, rivers, and other waterways posing a threat not only during the rainy season but to the unpredictable weather because of climate change.
In an initial assessment, the growing environmental awareness and responsilbility outweighs the initial inconvenience experienced by a few consumers thus marking the resolution and ordinance effective.
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