Campaign tarps, plastic trash end up in trade fair

RECYCLED Tarpaulins used by politicians during this year’s election campaign find new use as shopping bags and wallets in Imus City. —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Campaign tarpaulins discarded after the May 13 elections have ended up on display racks as shopping bags and wallets in a trade fair in Cavite province.

Doris Sagenes, environment officer of Imus City, said the local government sent out a directive to all village officials to take down and collect the tarpaulins in their areas.

Making no distinction of political parties or whether the candidates won, the city had collected hundreds of the campaign materials from its 97 villages.

They were taken to the city’s ecological center and sewn into bags, now being sold at the trade fair for P60 each.

‘BasuRaffle’

Sagenes said it was part of the city’s three-year-old program to reduce plastic waste. Imus has been doing the same for food wrappers and plastic bottles that were being woven into wallets or shredded and mixed with concrete into ecobricks, she said.

“Even during the campaign, we encouraged the candidates to not only [ask people to] vote for [them] but to also hold lectures and discussions on waste management and disaster preparedness,” Sagenes said in a phone interview on Monday.

The city also encourages residents to collect plastic waste through its “BasuRaffle.”

Under the program, residents get a raffle ticket for every kilogram of plastic trash turned over to the city government. The city holds a monthly raffle draw and gives away prizes like sacks of rice or rice cooker.

In 2018, Imus collected about 16 tons of plastic waste, a big part of the haul turned over to the recycling plant of the Villar Sipag foundation in Las Piñas City.

Sagenes said the materials were returned to Imus in the form of 300 armchairs, which local officials distributed to public schools. —Maricar Cinco