MANILA, Philippines — Reminders to “Save the Environment, bring your own recyclable/reusable bags” will be prominently posted in business establishments in Quezon City after the city council approved a ban on plastic shopping bags.

First District Councilor Dorothy Delarmente, author of the approved ordinance, said the measure will lessen the use of non-biodegradable materials in business establishments.

She stressed that the council must come up with measures to promote the welfare of Quezon City residents and one of the best ways to do it is to minimize the use of plastic materials which can damage the environment.

According to Delarmente, the problem of indiscriminate throwing of non-biodegradable plastic bags blights the utilization of waterways, and drainages that causes flooding in some areas in the city.

“This must be stopped by requiring business establishments to urge customers not to use non-biodegradable polyethylene bags,’’ Delarmente said.

Under the new measure, all barangay officials and all the law enforcers of the environmental protection and waste management department (EPWMD) are deputized to apprehend offenders.

Violators will be subject to a fine of P1,000 for first offense, P2,000 for the second and P5,000 and cancellation of business permit for the third.

Based on the department’s Waste Analysis and Characterization Study (WACS), there are about 1,887,600 kilograms or 8,988 cubic meters of solid wastes collected in Quezon City everyday, 48 percent of which are biodegradable and 39 percent are non-biodegradable.

Sixteen percent of the non-biodegradable wastes are polyethylene byproducts.