littering that for the nth time blighted the Black Nazarene feast has drawn the
ire of environmental health activists.
The EcoWaste Coalition, an advocate for a trash-less Traslacion, decried the
assorted discards that have piled up along the processional route and in Quiapo
district itself.
“We are saddened by the lack of respect for the environment by some of the
devotees who simply left their discards lying on the ground for others to pick
up,” lamented Ochie Tolentino, Zero Waste Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“From Luneta to Quiapo, we managed to take photos of mounds of garbage that
have kept waste workers and volunteers busy and tired,” she reported.
Among the common waste materials discarded were food leftovers, food
packaging, bamboo skewers, polystyrene containers, plastic bags, plastic
bottles, soiled newspapers and cigarette butts, the group said.
“We even found PET bottles and plastic bags filled with human urine in
Luneta,” Tolentino pointed out.
“It seems that the appeal for a trash-less Traslacion by no less than Manila
Mayor Joseph Estrada has fallen on deaf ears. This is lamentable as January
is also designated as Zero Waste month,” she noted.
Last Sunday, Estrada called on the devotees to “make the solemn
feast more meaningful by keeping our environment clean,” stressing “we should
refrain from carelessly throwing our garbage anywhere for it spoils the spirit
of this revered tradition.”
“While we commend the government’s waste and sanitation workers and the
eco-volunteers from the parishes and schools for picking up the litter that
others have left, we think the public, particularly the devotees, should take
full responsibility for their wastes, including their urine, and stop burdening
others,” Tolentino said.
“Our responsibility to protect the integrity of creation must also be at the
heart of our devotion to the Black Nazarene. We can and we must profess
our faith in a manner that will not defile and harm the environment,” she
emphasized.
The sincere efforts of various groups and sectors to address the garbage
problem posed by the mammoth feast did not escape the group’s attention.
The EcoWaste Coalition lauded the initiative of the Archdiocese of Manila
Ecology Ministry to put up a waste management system at Rizal Park, venue of the traditional “pahalik”
and vigil prior to the procession.
It praised the Philippine College of Criminology, other tertiary institutions
and several parochial schools for mobilizing their students for the cleanup
job.
It also recognized the combined action of Manila’s Department of
Public Services and the Metro Manila Development Authority to deploy street
sweepers along the Traslacion route.
Finally, the group thanked the informal waste recyclers for picking up the
plastic bottles and other recyclable discards left by the devotees.