Observe ‘eco-friendly’ Christmas, New Year festivities, public told
AWASTE and pollution watchdog has appealed for public cooperation to lessen the environmental impact of the muchanticipated festive celebration of Christmas and New Year’s Day by reducing unnecessary wastes.
At an event on Wednesday at the San Pablo Apostol Parish in Tondo, Manila, the Ecowaste Coalition partnered with the Canossa -Tondo Children’s Foundation Inc. to promote practical, creative and eco-friendly ideas to prevent and reduce the massive holiday trash (or “holitrash”) associated with the celebration of Christmas.
Dubbed as “Christmas Saya 2022: Paskong Walang Aksaya,” women and youth from the parish community took part in activities espousing down-to-earth ideas for a greener Christmas such as by reusing waste materials for holiday decorations, creating gifts that come with minimal or zero packaging, and segregating discards into different categories to make waste management safe and easy.
“The joyful remembrance of the Christmas story is an opportunity for Christian Filipinos to rediscover the virtue of simplicity as exemplified by the birth of Jesus in a manger,” said Jove Benosa, Zero Waste Campaigner of Ecowaste Coalition.
“Amid the growing threats of throw-away plastic culture to health and the environment, we are reminded to relearn and relive the simplicity of the Nativity and avoid crass commercialism and wastefulness during Christmas and beyond,” she said.
The groups urged the public to cut down on crass consumerism and holitrash by making a shopping list to avoid impulse buying and overspending, bringing in their own “bayong” or reusable bags, while refusing plastic or paper bags, and go for ecofriendly products that are minimally packed, durable, and safe, and which can be repaired, reused, recycled or passed on to others.
Among other measures, they also urged consumers to support local products made or marketed by farmers, persons deprived of liberty, cooperatives, church and civic groups, and consider buying in bulk to reduce the cost per unit, as well as to lessen packaging waste.
As for Christmas gifts, the Ecowaste Coalition urged the public to choose gifts that come with little or no packaging at all and to give gifts that foster good health and ecological balance such as vegetable seeds, kitchen herbs, flower bulbs, tree saplings, organic personal care and cosmetic products, eco-alternatives to plastics, etc.
They further urged gift-givers to refrain from wrapping gifts and to use old magazines, newspapers, fabric scraps or native baskets if wrapping is required.
Also, the group suggested carefully unwrapping gifts and not to tear them open and to keep gift bags, boxes, bows, ribbons and wrappers for the next gift-giving season, or as materials for school projects.