Christmas and waste exchange stations

Expect many to troop to church early morning of December 16, the first day of the popular Misa de Gallo, a long-time traditional practice still followed by Filipinos. With their petitions and devotion, many will strive to hear mass at dawn for nine consecutive days, until the 24th, the eve of Christmas.

In church from December 16 are the busy peddlers, especially of food items. Transport workers will also start their day early. Choirs may also be there to welcome the churchgoers with their music. As

December 16 is a Sunday this year, shall we expect an even bigger crowd than usual?

Where people congregate, expect trash as well. The more people, the more trash. During holidays, expect more volume of generated waste.

Are we preparing to present back to the Lord a clean earth - a more effective waste management system - in the same way we are preparing our hearts for the Lord?

Can we include in our offering to the Lord this season a cleaner world? Can we go to Church without leaving behind any waste? Can we help clean up the churches of any waste before we leave after Mass?

Can we include in our petition the prayer that we and all others will promise to keep our own home, community, and environment free from irresponsible, unsegregated waste?

Christmas reminds us all to prepare our hearts for the Lord, to share love to all. Can we include our love for the world, our earth, our planet that the Lord provided us with? Can we protect and preserve his beautiful world by promising to start to properly and responsibly manage our own waste?

That will certainly be one memorable Christmas to create - one where waste is responsibly managed, one where streets, churches, communities, among others, are clean, free of waste irresponsibly generated and disposed!

Why stop with Christmas?

Can we extend our offering of a clean world back to God beyond Christmas, all the way to and throughout the next new year and all the years beyond?

Or, as most offices and services are on holiday break, shall we expect again dirty, smelly, uncollected garbage all throughout our community and our city? Or can we make this holiday a different one by planning and implementing an integrated, comprehensive network of partnership for a responsible, sustainable waste management scheme for the holidays and beyond?

To encourage people to properly dispose of their waste, can we devise a scheme where those who will help collect and dispose their waste in designated segregated waste exchange stations will receive some compensation, in cash or in kind?

For example, in exchange for different types of waste, one can receive some cash or rice, canned goods, noodles, school supplies, or other gift items to be solicited from partners or provided by local government units or agencies.

Such a scheme may encourage proper waste collection and segregation. It will reward participants for their partnership for waste management. The reward system may also help especially the needy. By practicing proper waste collection and disposal at the waste exchange stations, more poor may earn enough cash or items for their Christmas meals and even presents.

The waste exchange stations can invite pool of partners per community, from schools, businesses, local governments, churches, hospitals, police and military.

Community-level multi-sectoral teams can be organized to coordinate the waste exchange stations at designated time schedules.

Shall we try this scheme of having waste exchange stations this holiday season and, if effective, then proceed to mainstream such eco-stations regularly through the days and years?