A member of environmental group, EcoWaste Coalition, rallies before collected ‘holitrash’ after the New Year’s revelries. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/www.ecowastecoalition.blogspot.com
An environmental watchdog criticized the “totally unacceptable” amount of garbage in the aftermath New Year revelries.
“After all the holiday shopping and partying, we find our household bins bulging at the seams and the streets strewn with garbage waiting to be swept away and hauled to the dumpsite,” Aileen Lucero, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition, in a statement.
“The ugly sight and stench of mixed ‘holitrash’ (short for holiday trash) left on street corners and market areas can make one’s stomach turn,” she said.
The group lamented the amount of trash after the holiday festivities such as firecracker remnants, disposable food containers and food leftovers.
Lucero’s team visited Recto Avenue in Divisoria, Manila on New Year’s Day and unfurled a paper banner on top of a garbage mound that says: “Next Time: Try the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle).”
A day before, the group also went to Divisoria to check out the widespread littering in the area.
“In the midst of a changing climate, we can no longer continue maltreating Mother Nature as a limitless source of raw materials for our needs and wants, and as a vast landfill for wastes and toxics,” Lucero said.
“Our wastefulness is already taking its toll on public health and the environment with garbage choking not only our communities, but even our rivers and seas,” she added.
President Benigno Aquino III has declared every month of January as Zero Waster month through Proclamation No. 760. This is to “to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use.”
Lucero emphasized that waste disposal costs a big chunk of taxpayers’ money.
Citing a 2013 year-end report of the Commission on Audit, Metro Manila’s local government units (LGUs) spent some P4.221 billion for garbage hauling expenses.
The top five spenders were Quezon City, P999.590 million; Manila City, P512.564; Makati City, P440.157 million; Caloocan City, P421.921 million; and Pasay City, P376.135 million.
“That’s a lot of money going to the dumps,” Lucero said. FM/TVJ
A member of EcoWaste Coalition drives a point with regards garbage disposal aimed at people celebrating New Year’s eve. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/EcoWaste Coalition