BACOLOD City – An ordinance that seeks to ban plastic straws in the city was filed at the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP).
The SP on its first reading approved the “Prohibition of Plastic Straws Ordinance” last week, said proponent Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr.
Gamboa stressed that passing the proposed ordinance will “curb the amount of trash found in the city” and “save our marine resources that are severely affected by plastic waste.”
“The plastic straws contain materials that do not easily decompose. [They] bring environmental pollution,” Gamboa said.
Continued usage and irresponsible disposal of plastic straws “pose several hazards to public health,” too, he added.
The proposed measure aims to promote the use of “eco-friendly materials such as paper, plants, and vegetables, among others.”
The proposal, however, did not specify how these materials can be used as substitute for plastic straws.
Listed as punishable acts under the proposal were:
* Vending, selling, delivering, deploying, and distributing plastic straws for any purpose, whether or not to be used for any kind of beverage
* Preparing or packaging plastic straws
* Using plastic straws for any purpose except for medical or emergency purposes
In the proposal, violators would be penalized under Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000./PN
