The good news is that there are types of plastics that are biodegradable.
Emelita Aguinaldo, OIC of the National Solid Waste Management Commission of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources, wrote City Administrator William Ablong last Friday to say there are biodegradable plastics and oxo-biodegradable plastics.
Aguinaldo wrote Ablong after Ablong inquired about the definition of “biodegradable plastic material” so that the anti-plastic ordinance in Dumaguete can be properly enforced.
The enforcement of the anti-plastic ordinance hit a snag after big department stores went back to using plastic as the primary wrapping material, alleging that these were biodegradable.
Businessmen who attended a forum on the anti-plastic bags ordinance last Wednesday at the City Hall are asking the City to go slow on the implementation of the law while the question remains over what biodegradable plastic really is and who is in a position to certify it as such.
Aguinaldo said that the only agency that can issue this type of certification after proper testing is the Bureau of Product Standards of the Department of Trade and Industry.
On the other hand, environmentalists are asking the City not to soften its stance.
Bioplastics, Aguinaldo explained, are plastics whose components are derived from renewable raw materials. Oxo-biodegradable plastics, on the other hand, are traditional petroleum-based plastics containing additives which allow them to disintegrate.
Single polymer Biodegradable plastics are expected to be 60 percent disintegrated within 24 months. Plastics with more than one polymer, on the other hand, are expected to be 90 percent disintegrated after 24 months. The biodegraded material should support plant growth and germination or enable earthworms to survive.
Aguinaldo acknowledged that there have been some plastic shopping bags that are allegedly biodegradable because of the concern on the disposal and disposability of plastics. However, she said the DENR is not in the position to certify if these plastics are indeed biodegradable.
Meanwhile, the Department of Science & Technology’s Industrial Technology Development Institute has also written Ablong to inform him that they are currently doing studies on the properties of so-called biodegradable plastics.
Dr. Nuna Almanzor, director of the ITDI, said they are still in the testing stage and are monitoring the progress and status of their experiments. She also said that their agency does not issue any certification nor endorse any technology or products as a result of this experiment.
