Business owners in Dumaguete City are urged to scout for alternative packaging materials in preparation for the full implementation of the plastic ban ordinance on August 28.
The Dumaguete City Public Information Office issued on Tuesday a notice to shop owners, managers and staff in the city requesting them to find an alternative material to be used in packaging goods purchased by their customers.
Business owners are also encouraged to post notices for their customers regarding the ordinance in conspicuous areas within their areas of business.
Ordinance No. 231 or “An Ordinance Regulating the Use of Plastic Shopping Bags on Both Dry Goods and Wet Goods in the City of Dumaguete” was approved on August 10, 2011.
It aims to curb the use of plastic which has been blamed for clogging the drainage canals in the city and worsening the floods that hit Dumaguete in 2009 and 2011.
Once the ordinance takes effect, vendors in the city are banned from offering or selling plastic bags to be used as secondary packaging material for wet goods or primary packaging for dry goods.
Polystyrene, popularly known as Styrofoam, and other similar materials are also prohibited as packaging containers either as primary or secondary packaging material.
Vendors or any “responsible persons of any store or business establishment” found violating said law will be penalized P500 for the first violation, P1,000 for second violation and P5,000 for third violation.
In an earlier forum, City Administrator William Ablong urged consumers to bring their own re-usable shopping bags or baskets where they can place their purchased items when they go shopping. (RMN-PIA7 Negros Oriental)
