Multisectoral stakeholders across Iloilo convened on April 28 to strengthen understanding of the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act and foster actionable partnerships between the local government and obliged enterprises to accelerate plastic circularity.
The Iloilo Provincial Government, through PGENRO’s Solid Waste Management Division Head Ms Mitzi Solitana-Peñaflorida, joined LGU partners Passi City, Dumangas, and Pototan and Iloilo City in mapping local waste systems and identifying EPR-viable business models and assessing their readiness in implementing the EPR Law.
These conversations are helping shape the WOW (Weave Out Waste) Limpyo Hub, co-developed with the UNDP Philippines PH Plastics Circularity Project, supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation.
More than an aggregation facility, the Hub is envisioned as the link between obliged enterprises and the ground, connecting EPR commitments to LGU waste programs, community-based waste workers, processors, and enterprises doing plastic waste upcycling and diversion across Iloilo Province.
The workshop was conducted by the European Union – Green Environment Partnership (EU-GEP), also being implemented by the UNDP Philippines.
Under RA 11898, LGUs are required to develop EPR Action Plans integrated into their 10-year solid waste management plans. Iloilo Province is getting ahead of that curve.
Text by UNDP Philippines
Photos by Penro-lgu Iloilo Ipg