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Go paperless and ban plastic: Sen. Pia S. Cayetano, in her privilege speech, emphasizes the pressing issue of sustainability and importance of solid waste management as she recommends to her colleagues to stop using pet (plastic) bottles, sachets and go paperless in the Senate. She said that 21 million tons of solid waste were generated in 2019, and about 10.55 percent of these are plastic. Almost 164 million pieces of sachets are used in the Philippines daily, equating to around 59.7 billion pieces of sachets yearly. The amount of waste in the country has reached 18.05 million tons with Metro Manila contributing 26 percent of this waste generation. Fifty percent are biodegradable, 15 percent are plastic, 15 percent are paper, and 20 percent are miscellaneous. Sen. Cayetano, as committee chair of Sustainable Development Goals, Innovation and Futures Thinking, said that “it is my duty to bring the concept of sustainability into discussion and debate everyday.” She also distributed free tumblers to all senators Wednesday, August 3, 2022. (Albert Calvelo/Senate PRIB)