10 September 2026, Quezon City. Young La Sallian learners and educators joined a seminar that unmasked hidden toxic chemicals in plastics that endanger public health and ecosystems in the Philippines and globally.
The informative session helps the students and teachers understand how hidden plastic chemical additives can pose risks to health and the environment. At a seminar co-organized by the De La Salle University – Dasmariñas Basic Education Division (DLSU-D BED) with the EcoWaste Coalition, some 200 junior and senior high school students and teachers learned about hazardous plastic chemicals, phthalates and bisphenols in particular, that tend to build up in human bodies and ecosystems.
Driven by a shared commitment to health and ecology, the DLSU-D BED and the EcoWaste Coalition organized the educational event for learners and teachers, headlined by Dr. Geminn Louis Apostol of the Ateneo Center for Research and Innovation (ACRI).
DLSU-D high school principal Marlon Pareja welcomes the seminar participants, which is held as part of the institution’s commitment to health awareness and environmental stewardship.
“True stewardship begins where education meets purposeful action. Addressing the plastic pollution crisis cannot remain a theoretical concept inside our classrooms; it demands an active, collective shift in the choices we make every day within our institutions and local communities,” said principal Marlon Pareja of the DLSU-D BED.
“By confronting our reliance on single-use plastics and instilling measurable, sustainable practices across our campus and in our lifestyle, while advocating for its phase-out, we empower our learners and educators to lead the defense of our ecosystems with conviction, purpose, and integrity,” he emphasized.
Environmental health specialist Dr. Geminn Louis Apostol points to the need for systemic change to protect everyone, especially children and the unborn, from endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as phthalates and bisphenols.
In his presentation, Apostol highlighted the threats from phthalates and bisphenols, which are synthetic additives found in everyday plastics, from toys, school supplies, cosmetics, medical devices, flooring, to food packaging, that act as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), or substances that mimic or block natural hormones in the body.
“Phthalates and bisphenols disrupt hormones, damage hearts, impair developing brains, and affect fertility rates and birth outcomes. Unlike acute toxins, they cause harm at tiny doses, and effects may not appear for decades and can span generations,” he said. “Plastics don’t belong in our bodies, nor do they belong in the environment.”
Apostol encouraged the participants to rethink their relationships with plastic, reframe inconvenience, embrace mindful consumption, find joy in alternatives, create new rituals, connect with community, and practice self-compassion.
While personal action matters, Apostol emphasized that it cannot substitute for systemic change, which can protect everyone, including the most susceptible – young children and babies in the womb.
According to the study undertaken by ACRI, Arugaan, EcoWaste Coalition, and the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), with support from the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), some regulations on bisphenols and phthalates exist in the Philippines. However, they are narrow, outdated, and poorly enforced, and most high-exposure products remain unregulated for these chemicals.
To promote the systemic change needed to prevent and reduce harms caused by hazardous plastic chemicals, the report pointed to the need for a strong UN Plastics Treaty with binding chemical controls; comprehensive chemical safety reform (expand regulations, enforce existing law, mandate chemical disclosure, build biomonitoring capacity, unify agency coordination); producer responsibility for the chemical composition of their products, not just waste volumes; and civil society monitoring, public education, consumer advocacy, and political pressure for policies that protect the most vulnerable, especially children and low-income households.
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Reference:
https://www.ateneo.edu/news/2026/07/acri-report-exposes-invisible-threat-plastics-how-phthalates-bisphenols-quietly
https://ipen.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Philippine-Situation-Report-on-Phthlates-and-Bisphenols.pdf
