Philippines 17.5 Billion Shopping Bags Create Plastic Waste Mess

(Bloomberg) -- The Philippines uses 17.5 billion plastic shopping bags and about 60 billion plastic sachets a year, generating so much waste that local governments are unable to cope, according to the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, a non-governmental organization.

Filipinos also use about 45 million thin film bags daily, the organization said in a statement, citing a study conducted in six cities and seven towns in the past five years. The group is calling on governments and manufacturers to regulate and stop producing single-use plastics, which it said are the greatest obstacle to sound management of waste and resources.

• At least 54 percent of total residual wastes are branded plastic; 10 companies are responsible for 60 percent of all branded waste collected at the sample sites: GAIA
• More than 1 billion diapers are discarded in the Philippines annually.
• See report on plastics pollution and what should be done.
• READ: Southeast Asia seeks ways to fight flood of plastic pollution
• High-income countries generate more plastic waste, according to Our World in Data, a non-profit website. The Philippines consumes 0.08 kilogram of plastics per person daily, compared with 0.34 kilogram in the U.S., its data show.

To contact the reporter on this story: Cecilia Yap in Manila at cyap19@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, James Poole, Tony Jordan

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