Public urged to reduce holiday trash

MANILA, Philippines — As Filipino families celebrate Christmas, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has urged the public to help reduce the festivities’ impact on the environment.

DENR records showed that the waste generated in Metro Manila for just the first half of the year has reached over 66,000 cubic meters, surpassing the target of 58,112.31 cu. m for the whole of 2019.

Environment and health watchdog EcoWaste Coalition echoed the DENR’s sentiments, reminding the public to reduce the volume of “holitrash” — a portmanteau of holiday and trash — during the observance of Christmas and New Year.

One way is to avoid using gift wrappers, and putting presents in reusable cloth bags.

“Opting not to wrap Christmas presents and saving the wrappers of gifts received will lessen the amount of packaging materials hauled to dumps or landfills,” Jove Benosa, EcoWaste’s zero waste campaigner, said.

Instead of giving out gifts that may end up discarded or forgotten, EcoWaste said presents of memories or experiences, like going to nature parks and reserves, could also be a good alternative.

“Well-thought-[out] presents, such as those that a family member actually needs or has always wanted are also more meaningful and don’t go to waste,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said.