By Antonio Colina IV  DAVAO CITY – Second district Councilor Diosdado Mahipus Jr. will propose a measure to ban the use of single-use plastics (SUPs) in Davao City. The first-time councilor, chairman of the Committee on Environment,  he was currently finishing consultations with different stakeholders for the proposed ordinance and vowed to submit the measure for deliberation with the local council once the draft is completed. He said he intends to regulate the sale and use of the SUPs that are polluting the environment, and encourage the use of re-usable items to reduce the production of wastes. “The intention is to regulate the sale and use of unnecessary disposable plastic items. Discourage its usage and instead encourage the use of re-usable items or the use of more sustainable alternatives,” he said. In his proposed draft, Mahipus identified SUPs as “disposable” recycle and non-recyclable plastics, which are “designed or placed on the market to be used once over a short time span before being  disposed or discarded.” The proposed ordinance specifically identified SUPs as plastic drinking cups; plastic condiment, sauce or gravy container, both recyclable and non-recyclable; plastic cup lids or covers; plastic stirrers; plastic cutlery (spoon, knife, or fork); plastic straws; plastic meal packaging; plastic hand gloves; plastic materials used as “buntings”; and plastic materials used as balloon sticks. Environmental group Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) maintained it would continue to push for total ban on SUP use. In its position paper, the group said that the rapid development in the city has led to “indiscriminate production and use of plastic products,” resulting in “staggering increase in plastic waste generation and environmental pollution.” It also cited the impact the SUPs would cause to the environment because plastics are non-biodegradable, staying in the environment for thousands of years, and would produce toxic chemicals that harmful to human health when incinerated, causing cardiovascular disease to cancer and autoimmune conditions. “Although they may slowly break down into microplastics, they will not decompose and instead find their way to water bodies and be eaten by marine animals.  While some plastics are less noticeable such as oxo-degradable designed to degrade quickly, they are still present in the environment and continue to accumulate through time affecting the health of every organism ingesting their debris or by-products,” it said. The city produces an average of 570 to 600 metric tons of daily wastes, according to IDIS. Environmental groups said there are several existing and available alternatives to plastics, such as “reusable bottles for drinking, reusable bamboo/metal straws and food utensils, bayong and ecobags for groceries, biodegradable packaging such as brown paper or banana leaves for dry goods and with reusable containers for wet goods. "