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Month: June 2022

Eco Group Requests President Duterte to Scrap EPR Bill

Quezon City, Philippines – Pollution watchdog EcoWaste Coalition raises alarm on the proposed  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) bill on plastic packaging waste and asks President Rodrigo Duterte to scrap said proposed bill.

“Institutionalizing EPR mechanisms is a welcome development in our push for a plastic-free Philippines. Sadly, the proposed EPR bill by congress promotes greenwashing and false solutions allowing plastic polluters to just continue their wasteful business practices at the expense of the environment and our communities,” said  Coleen Salamat, Plastic Solutions Campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition.

According to the group, a genuine EPR follows the concept of ‘polluters’ pay principle’ that  puts greater responsibility on those who pollute more, such as the plastic industry and producers of fast-moving consumer goods.

“The current trend on the initiatives of consistent top polluters like Nestle, Procter and Gamble, Unilever, Coca-Cola, still heavily rely on cement kilns, chemical recycling, and other false solutions that burn or melt single-use plastics. These false solutions are not just a threat to the environment but also a public health concern. Schemes like these do not reduce or prevent waste but also contribute to worsening of air pollution,” said Salamat.

“The current EPR bill is not a precedent that polluters will be held accountable since it does not penalize producers for prohibited acts on the production, use, distribution, and importation of non-environmentally acceptable products and packaging,” added Salamat.

In 2019, a research by Nature Climate Change found that if plastic was a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter in the world.

“We urge President Duterte to stay true to the Philippines commitment of 75% reduction of domestic emission by 2030. We are in a defining moment for our climate, we need lasting zero waste solutions that do not further contribute to the warming of our planet,” said Salamat.

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For more information, please contact:
EcoWaste Coalition
info@ecowastecoalition.org

Pope’s June prayer intention: ‘For families’

Vatican News

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for June 2022, and urges Catholics to pray for all families during the month in which Rome hosts the 10th World Meeting of Families.

By Devin Watkins

“There is no such thing as a perfect family. There are always ‘buts.’’

Pope Francis made that affirmation in The Pope Video released on Thursday to promote his prayer intention for June.

Yet, he added, “that doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t be afraid of mistakes; we have to learn from them so we can move forward.”

United in the family

As the Church prepares to gather in Rome on 22-26 June for the 10th World Meeting of Families, Pope Francis upheld the family and urged all Catholics to pray for them.

“The family is the place where we learn to live with one another, to live with young people and with those who are older. And by being united in our differences—young people, the elderly, adults, children—we evangelize with our example of life.”

God offers path of holiness in families

The Pope recalled that God is always with us, in our neighborhood, cities, and daily life.

“And He takes care of us,” said Pope Francis. “He remains with us at all times in the swaying of the boat tossed by the sea: when we argue, when we suffer, when we’re joyful, the Lord is there and accompanies us, helps us, and corrects us.”

At the same time, he said, love within the family offers a “personal path of holiness.”

“Let us pray for Christian families around the world. May each and every family embody and experience unconditional love and advance in holiness in their daily lives.”

‘Main source of meaning for people’

A press release from the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, which prepares the video, referenced a survey carried out by the Pew Research Center in 2021, noting that “the family continues to be the main source of meaning in the lives of many people.”

Cardinal Kevin Farrell, Prefect of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, affirmed that every family has its own problems and joys.

“Loving relationships between spouses, parents, children, and grandparents are what become paths of holiness,” he said, noting that this love is “made of simple daily gestures, which take little to make ordinary moments extraordinary.”