The sale and use of plastic and Styrofoam packaging materials and kitchen utensils in Dagupan City will soon be a thing of the past.

City Ordinance No. 1858-2006, once it takes effect after its publication, has banned the sale of plastic kitchen utensils and plastic and Styrofoam packaging materials in all of the city’s business establishments.

“All institutions, such as government offices, schools, hospitals and clinics, churches, and other similar entities, including private offices, are hereby banned from using plastic and Styrofoam packaging materials and utensils, except as recycled and for the purposes of containing and disposing of medical, toxic, infectious and hazardous wastes and research,” the ordinance also said.

The ordinance was authored by Councilor Nicanor Aquino, chair of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on environment and natural resources.

“There is a need to regulate the sale and use of plastic and Styrofoam materials to effectively implement the provisions of R.A. 9003 and protect our city from environmental degradation posed by materials that are considered non-environmentally acceptable,” said Vice Mayor Alvin Fernandez, shortly after the SP unanimously enacted the ordinance.

R.A. 9003, otherwise known as the Ecological Waste Management Act of 2000, regulates the use of products and materials that are not environment-friendly, including plastic and Styrofoam.

The ordinance also ordered establishments directly selling plastic and Styrofoam materials to reduce by at least 50 percent their sales of such materials within six months and provide alternative products made of biodegradable component.

“Within one year, from the enactment of this ordinance, all such establishments shall reduce the volume of these products being sold by them by at least 75 percent,” the ordinance said.

The ordinance, however, allows the use of plastic and Styrofoam as packaging materials in the wet sections of business establishments provided that buyers are encouraged to use recycled by offering incentives, such as discounts and rebates.

Food dispensing establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, catering services and others, have also been directed by the ordinance to reduce their use of the regulated packaging materials by 75 percent within six months.

Ordinance violators will be asked to pay a fine ranging from P3,000 toP5,000 or may be imprisoned from five to 15 days.