More LGUs move to ban plastic

At least nine (9) cities and 16 municipalities in the country have banned or regulated the use of plastic bags in their localities. The Municipalities of Sta. Barbara in Iloilo and Los Banos in Laguna have long implemented their plastic regulation ordinance but it was the City of Muntinlupa that set the ball rolling when it became the first city to ban plastic bags in January of 2011.

Muntinlupa has reported significant decrease in the amount of waste collected. They also attribute to the plastic ban the decreased number of days when their low lying areas were under flood waters.

Other cities followed suit, including Antipolo, Bacolod, Las Pinas, Makati, Mandaluyomg and Pasig. The Metro Manila Development Authority, meanwhile, has encouraged all the LGUs to pass their own plastic bag ordinance.

The other Municipalities with existing ordinance on plastic bag regulations are the following: Imus, Carmona and Binan in Cavite; Lucban, Paete, Kalayaan and Infanta in Quezon; Burgos in Pangasinan; Sta. Cruz, Luisiana, Calamba, and Calauan in Laguna; and Odiongan in Romblon. More LGUs are currently in the process of passing their own ordinance.