Green group decries littering, hails Manila cemeteries

MANILA, Philippines—Real estate agents handing out brochures that dirties up cemeteries got the “Kalat Award” from an environmental watchdog, which monitored litterbugs on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

The EcoWaste Coalition also handed out the “Pako Award” to the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City for “having the most trees injured by commercial tarpaulin advertisements nailed on defenseless trees.”

But the other awards struck a more positive chord.

The “Most Improved Award” went to the Manila North Cemetery in Manila  and the Manila South Cemetery in Makati City for their “newly energized efforts” in implementing the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

EcoWaste said this was evident in posters in strategic areas reminding the public against littering and dumping garbage within cemetery grounds, and for putting up appropriately labelled garbage bins on cemetery premises.

The “Pulot para sa Kalikasan Award” was given to waste recyclers and volunteers of the Tzu Chi Foundation and other groups, who “retrieved assorted recyclables, and thus helped in preventing valuable resources from being wasted,” the group said.

In a news release, EcoWaste decried the “widespread littering” that again typified the annual observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, as millions of Filipinos trooped to cemeteries to honor the departed.

It lamented what it called blatant violations of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act despite persistent appeals by the government and civil society to avoid littering on both holidays.

“Although the volume of trash may not be as bad as in previous years, we find the littering that again marred the observance of Undas regrettable as cemeteries are hallowed places and should be garbage-free,” EcoWaste coordinator Aileen Lucero said.

“Litterbugs should mind their bad habits and try recycling next time,” she said.

EcoWaste slammed some cemeteries, particularly the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City, for allowing tarpaulin ads to be nailed on trees in violation of Republic Act 3571, which “prohibits the cutting, destroying or injuring of planted or growing trees, flowering plants and shrubs or plants of scenic value along public roads, in plazas, parks, school premises or in any other public ground.”

“The tarps nailed on trees by popular food outlets leave a bad taste in the mouth and should be removed at once.  This appalling act can cause stress to a tree and ultimately damage and kill it,” said Lucero.

The group commended the Manila North Cemetery and Manila South Cemetery for their efforts to improve the management of solid wastes.

“We commend the efforts by the new management of the Manila North and South Cemeteries to increase public awareness against littering, improve cleanliness and introduce operational programs on ecological solid waste management,” said the group’s zero waste campaigner Tin Vergara.

In its monitoring of several cemeteries around Metro Manila, EcoWaste observed that the most visible discards included food leftovers, disposable plates, cups and cutlery, polystyrene containers, pizza boxes, plastic bags and bottles, soiled brown bags and newspapers, candy and snack wrappers, cigarette butts, and commercial leaflets.

“There were also reports of open burning as evidenced by the ash and incompletely burned materials found in some street corners, vacant lots and near desolated tombs,” EcoWaste said.