‘Tis the season to reduce ‘holitrash’

For the nth time, an environmental watch group has appealed to the public to be more conscious about their holiday trash.

“Time and again, we find our bins filled to the brim before, during and after the Christmas and New Year festivities as if we were not already throwing enough trash throughout the year,” EcoWaste Coalition campaigner Ochie Tolentino said in a statement on Sunday.

More trash generated

The group observed that during the holiday season, a person in Metro Manila produces on the average 1.2 kilos of trash a day, nearly double the 0.7 kilos of trash one generates a day for the rest of the year.

EcoWaste Coalition made several suggestions on reducing one’s ‘holitrash.’

• When shopping, bring reusable bags and containers. Buy local products as much as possible, choose products with the least amount of packaging and avoid paper and plastic
carry bags and single-use party disposables;

• Cut on food waste by preparing only what is needed and properly storing or sharing excess food especially with indigent families and the homeless;

• Reuse Christmas gift boxes, wrappers and gift accessories for the next gift-giving occasion or for school arts and crafts activities;

• Sell recyclable materials such as boxes, papers, soda cans, glass and plastic bottles and other containers to junk shops or give them to informal waste recyclers;

• Compost biodegradable discards such as fruit and vegetable peelings at home or in the barangay composting facility; and;

• Do not use firecrackers and fireworks.

“Let’s honor the birth of Child Jesus with a greener, simpler and toxic-free celebration that will not harm the public health and the environment,” Tolentino said.

He added that reducing holitrash was a doable gift for Mother Earth in “this festive season of giving and sharing.”