![\"HN\"](\"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-philippines-stateless\/2019\/05\/a7ffccf2-a7ffccf2-img_9290.jpg\" "\\"HN\\"")
\nAccompanied by four higantes<\/em> carrying a serpent-like plastic monster, the groups delivered a demand letter and \u201cinvoice from the Filipino people\u201d outlining the costs of Nestl\u00e9\u2019s single-use plastic packaging to human health impacts, environmental pollution, death of wildlife, damage to livelihoods and businesses, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste management costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the longest time, companies like Nestl\u00e9 have been passing on the costs and impacts of their plastic pollution to our people, communities, and environment. Their continuing reliance on single-use plastics for packaging their products has brought on terrible consequences for nature, marked by polluted beaches and suffering wildlife, not to mention potentially serious effects on our health,\u201d said Sonia Mendoza, Chair of Mother Earth Foundation.<\/p>\n
The Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, are reeling from the impacts of plastic pollution brought about by the influx of products wrapped in sachets or smaller plastic packaging aimed at reaching lower income brackets in developing countries. However, communities and governments often bear the brunt of managing the disposal of these plastic packaging while multinational corporations\u2019 continued production and use of single-use plastic\u00a0packaging have been escaping scrutiny and accountability.<\/p>\n
In brand audits conducted in coastal areas, as well as in cities and municipalities throughout the country, Nestl\u00e9\u2019s throwaway plastic packaging outnumbered the amount of packaging from other manufacturers. In a five-year household waste assessment and brand audits <\/a><\/strong>conducted in\u00a0seven cities and municipalities by MEF, Nestl\u00e9 was found to be the top household plastic\u00a0polluter, with Nestl\u00e9-branded packaging trash accounting for almost 15% of the total branded\u00a0residual waste audited.<\/p>\n Further, waste and brand audits<\/a><\/strong> conducted in six Philippine and Indonesian hospitals in 2018 also found Nestle (along with Monde Nissin and Danone) as one of the top three biggest single-use plastic waste producers. Finally, in September 2017, #breakfreefromplastic member organizations in the Philippines conducted an unprecedented eight-day coastal cleanup, waste and brand audit on Freedom Island, a critical habitat for migratory birds off Manila Bay. The audit identified the top brands found to be polluting the island. Multinational corporations like Nestle led the top corporate plastic polluters <\/a><\/strong>ranking.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is totally unjust that Nestl\u00e9 is passing the burden for managing what is essentially an unmanageable waste problem on our local governments and citizens. Why should taxpayers assume the pollution legacy of a multi-billion dollar company? Our government should start charging Nestl\u00e9 and similar companies for their share of our waste management costs. Our taxes should be used to support educational, health and other social services for Filipinos, and not to cover up the pollution footprint of multinational companies,\u201d said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator of the Ecowaste Coalition.<\/p>\n In a briefing paper<\/a><\/strong> released today, the groups have estimated that the cost for the management\u00a0of residual wastes (which is mostly single-use plastics) is around PHP 5.8 to 7.2 million per day,\u00a0or around PHP 2.1 to 2.6 billion per year.<\/p>\n \u201cCorporations like Nestl\u00e9 must redesign their production and start investing in alternative\u00a0packaging materials and delivery systems that are ecologically sustainable for the people and\u00a0the planet. We also want to see clear targets and timelines from the company on how they\u00a0intend to reduce their plastic footprint. It is lamentable that instead of prioritizing reduction\u00a0measures, the company is still fixated in promoting false and controversial solutions like\u00a0chemical recycling and pyrolysis to respond to this crisis. The time for greenwashing is over,\u00a0Nestl\u00e9, it\u2019s time to clean up your act!\u201d added Beau Baconguis, Regional Plastics Campaigner of\u00a0the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives and Asia-Pacific coordinator of\u00a0#breakfreefromplastic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are here today because we have had enough. Nestl\u00e9 claims to care about its plastic pollution, but has actually continued to increase its reliance on throwaway plastics. In 2018, the company produced 1.7 million metric tons of plastic packaging, which is a 13 percent increase from the 1.5 million metric tons they produced in 2017. While they claim to be taking this crisis seriously, their actions are not backing that up. As a major contributor to plastic pollution, Nestl\u00e9 must take immediate action to reduce its production of throwaway packaging and invest in refill and reuse delivery systems for the sake of our planet,\u201d added Abigail Aguilar, Greenpeace Southeast Asia \u2013 Philippines Campaigner.<\/p>\n Notes to\u00a0the Editors:<\/strong><\/p>\n Last year, brand audits<\/a> <\/strong>led by Break Free From Plastic member organizations in 42 countries, found\u00a0Nestl\u00e9 as the third most frequent multinational brand collected in cleanups.<\/p>\n In the Philippines, the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) estimated that waste\u00a0generation in the country in 2016 is at 40,000 tons per day (tpd). If we assume that all this goes to landfill,\u00a0the cost for managing this waste is around PHP 32 million to 40 million daily. The NSWMC data cites that\u00a0residuals comprise 18% of waste generated.<\/p>\n Contact:<\/strong><\/p>\n Jed Alegado, Communications Officer for Asia Pacific, Break Free from Plastic
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\njed@breakfreefromplastic.org<\/a>