MANILA, Philippines – Offering prayers is the best way to honor the dead. It costs nothing, it doesn’t come in plastic and one can always reuse or recycle prayers.

The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental watchdog, and Caloocan Bishop Deogracias S. Iñiguez Jr. are urging Filipinos to observe “a simple, climate-friendly and toxic-free” undas (Filipino-style observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day) this weekend.

Where there are crowds, there will likely be lots of garbage left behind by uncaring people. They spruce up the graves of their loved ones but think nothing of the dirt they leave behind.

“We should strive to observe these holy days with the health, safety and welfare of our people and the environment in mind,” said Iñiguez who heads the Public Affairs Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

“The environmental lessons from the recent storms should not be ignored as we carry on with our timeless tradition of remembering all the saints and our dear departed ones,” he added.

“We owe it to all who perished in the calamities to reform the way we have been treating Mother Earth, ensuring that we hurt her no more with our wasteful habits and harmful practices,” the bishop stressed.

Green choices

Manny Calonzo, EcoWaste Coalition president, said: “Bishop Iñiguez is right in calling attention to ecological stewardship at this crucial time of relief, remedy and healing following the harrowing floods, landslides and dislocations.”

Calonzo added that undas is an opportunity for everyone “to play a constructive role towards curbing crass consumerism that has sullied our beautiful tradition of honoring the dead. Our shared efforts to green our choices and practices ... can make this year’s undas kinder to the environment,” he said.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a network of some 85 public interest groups, traces its roots to a conference convened by Greenpeace and the CBCP-backed “Landfill Watch” of 2000.

The bishop and the environmental watchdog are urging Filipinos to have a nature-friendly way of remembering and honoring the dead by minimizing waste and pollution in cemeteries and the surrounding areas.

Climate-friendly tips

They offer the following tips for a climate-friendly and toxic-free undas:

Take public transportation or share a ride to the cemetery. Carpooling or taking a jeepney, bus or train creates carbon savings.

Avoid idling your car to cut down on energy consumption, greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions.

Light just enough candles. It saves money, energy and minimizes pollution. Don’t buy candles with metal wicks as they may contain harmful chemicals such as lead, a neurotoxin.

Choose locally grown flowers over imported ones that are not only costly, but also require more energy to fly them into the country.

Refrain from wrapping flowers in plastic. If not disposed of properly, plastics could clog waterways and cause floods, injuring and killing marine animals. When burned, plastics produce dioxins, the most toxic chemicals known to science.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Don’t bring or buy excessive amounts of food and beverage to the cemetery to cut on expense and waste.

Bring your own water in a reusable jug. Discarded plastic bottles add up to the country’s garbage problem.

Pack everything you wish to bring to the cemetery in reusable bags and baskets instead of single-use plastic bags and containers.

Bring home all your discards for reusing or recycling. Give leftovers to pets or turn them into compost along with other biodegradable waste. Reuse or recycle nonbiodegradable discards.

Offer prayers of gratitude and remembrance for your departed ones. Prayers are the best way of honoring the people we love and they cause no garbage nor pollution.