Public asked not to litter cemeteries with trash

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Pay your respects not only to your dearly departed but to the environment as well.

Green advocates reminded the public on Wednesday to observe All Saints Day and All Souls Day over the weekend “in an eco-friendly and respectful way.”

“As we visit and commemorate our deceased loved ones, we need to keep in mind that cemeteries are sacred places and not graveyards for our unwanted trash,” said Tin Vergara, zero-waste campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition.

“We must celebrate this occasion with simplicity, spirituality and utter respect for both the dead and the living by keeping the cemeteries waste-free, toxics-free and trouble-free,” she said in a news release.

On Wednesday, members of EcoWaste dramatized their plea before the press at the Manila North Cemetery, where they presented a tableau of a corpse rising from a coffin with a placard saying “respect the dead” as a monster made of garbage overwhelmed her with trash.

They also paraded around the cemetery with black veils embellished with the kind of garbage commonly left by cemetery-goers, such as plastic bags, cups and bottles,  snack wrappers and plastic foam, as well as biodegradable discards.

Other civic groups that joined the event included the Cavite Green Coalition, Cycling Advocates, Malikhaing Landas na Magpapayabong sa Sining at Kultura, Miss Earth Foundation, and November 17 Movement.

Manila North officer-in-charge Raffy Mendez used the occasion to issue a public appeal for a waste-free “Undas.”

EcoWaste offered the following eco-friendly tips for cemetery-goers:

1. Choose clean-burning, lead-free candles that do not yield black smoke or soot. Set alight a limited number of candles to reduce heat and pollution.

2. Offer local fresh flowers, not plastic ones, or consider bringing potted plants and flowers instead. Simple, inexpensive flowers will do.

3. Bring your own water jug to avoid purchasing bottled water.

4. Say yes to reusable carriers, containers, and utensils such as lunchboxes and thermos, cloth napkins and silverwares. Say no to throw-away bags, wraps, foil or plastic foam, paper napkins, and forks and spoons.

5. Buy less or only as much as you can consume in terms of food and beverage to avoid spoilage or wastage. Bring “bayong” or other reusable bags to carry your stuff and purchases, and refuse plastic bags and wrappers from vendors.

6. Cut your waste size by not creating trash in the first place such as by purchasing products with the least amount of packaging and avoiding single-use plastics.

7. Don’t litter, dump or burn trash in the cemetery.

8. Put your discards into the recycling bins if available.

9. Relieve yourself only in the proper place.

10. Refrain from smoking in the cemetery.