1.

Based on the study, how our country has become a throwaway society, report
the result of the findings. What are the different plastics that the average Filipino
uses in a year, and how many plastics?

Organic waste accounts for more than half of all trash created in the Philippines,
according to WABAs held around the country, confirming that organic waste
management is an essential approach that will result in significant waste reduction for
local governments. Data disaggregation on the many categories of plastic residuals
provides a clearer picture of trash creation, offering useful information on policy
measures required to significantly decrease this very troublesome waste stream.
Plastic bag rules that are strictly enforced have a tremendous impact on reducing
plastic bag use. However, the presence of a plastic bag legislation in a city or
municipality does not guarantee a reduction in plastic bag use. In the Philippines,
almost 164 million sachets are consumed every day, totaling 59.7 billion sachets each
year. Cities and municipalities are left to cope with this problem using taxpayers' money
in the absence of regulations enforcing culpability and accountability for the generation
of this troublesome waste stream.
While more emphasis should be placed on ensuring the reusability of packaging
and products, it is necessary to highlight that within effective waste management
systems, recycling plays an important role in supporting livelihoods and creating
additional income for households, villages, municipalities, and cities. Branded garbage
accounts for more than half of all unrecyclable residual waste disposed in the country,
and only ten enterprises are responsible for 60% of all branded rubbish in the research
locations. This underscores the critical need for measures that encourage firms to
accept responsibility for their plastic waste, particularly by dramatically lowering the
manufacturing of disposable plastic packaging.

2. Through the extrapolation process made by researchers from the University of

Santo Tomas' Research Center for Social Sciences and Education (RCSSEd),
what is the national estimates of plastic used an thrown a day and per year?

The study extrapolates national estimates of yearly per capita usage of plastic
shopping bags, plastic labo, and sachets in the Philippines using WABA data. According
to the findings, the average Filipino uses 591 sachets, 174 shopping bags, and 163
plastic labo bags per year. (2) Everyday, nearly 48 million shopping bags are used
throughout the Philippines, amounting to approximately 17.5 billion pieces per year. (3)
The use of plastic labo bags in the Philippines is 45.2 million pieces per day, or 16.5
billion pieces per year. In addition, around three million diapers are wasted everyday in
the Philippines, amounting to 1.1 billion diapers each year.