MANILA, Sept. 25 (PNA) — A bill banning the importation, shipment, entry and dumping of garbage, hazardous scrap or residual wastes into the country has been filed at the House of Representatives.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said House Bill No. 5930 aims to address health and environmental issues and more importantly its impact on the economy of the country.
Castelo cited the case of the 50 container vans which were recently shipped into the country from Canada.
“No country in the world should be dumping site for another country’s trash. It should therefore be banned for items, materials, or substances detrimental to health and environment to be loaded on container vans and be shipped or imported from foreign countries under any guise such are recyclables, filling materials or declared as stuff. The Philippines is simply not a dumping ground for such filth,” he explained.
The veteran lawmaker said Canada’s recent waste dumping in the country might set a precedent that if otherwise unchecked will trigger unprecedented problems that would impact directly to health and environmental in terms of substances or materials that may possibly be of such detriment.
“No country should tolerate the congestion at the ports of container loads upon container loads of garbage, trash or waste. Shipments of trash must certainly be the proper subject of a more stringent and aggressive general ban,” Castelo pointed out.
Under the measure to be known as the “Anti-Trash Act of 2015,” a general ban on the importation, shipment, entry and dumping into the country of garbage, trash, or similar and otherwise hazardous scrap or residual waste shipped to the Philippines from other countries is prescribed.
The Bureau of Customs (BoC) is mandated to require prospective importers to secure the necessary clearance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) prior to the importation, shipment, entry, and dumping into the country of said items, materials or substances.
The subject items, materials or substances shall not be classified in any way as recyclables nor filling materials since these are deemed detrimental to health and the environment. (PNA)