CEBU CITY, CEBU — All single-use plastic materials will now be prohibited in Cebu City after the city’s aldermen decided against their use within a two-year transition period in a bid to promote a healthy and clean environment in the face of growing concerns over climate change and the depletion of the earth’s ozone layer caused by the global phenomenon.
According to the Cebu City Council, the ordinance was unanimously approved by its members who had discussed the issue on global warming and climate change with environment al experts to finally pass the measure that would apply to all business establishments in the city, including hotels, restaurants and fast-food chains.
“It is timely to prohibit the usage of single-use disposable materials to reduce waste by-products. This is one of the prudent ways to a balanced and healthful ecology of the City’s constituents,” south district city councilman Eduardo Rama pointed out.
“The ban covers materials primarily made of plastic or other similar materials such as, but not limited to, plastic bags, straws or stirrers,” Rama, the principal sponsor of the ordinance, added. Under the city measure, secondary packaging materials or disposable materials like Styrofoam will also be banned.
However, the ordinance still needs the signature of Cebu City mayor Edgardo Labella.
Meanwhile, despite the need for the official approval of the ordinance by Labella, the Cebu City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CCENRO) will now be tasked to ensure the implementation of the local law and initiate programs that would promote the use of environmentally friendly secondary packaging materials such as eco bags, woven bags or the indigenous ‘bayong’ among others.
