22 May 2014, Quezon City. Environmentalists and teachers made a pitch for an eco-friendly Brigada Eskwela as the week-long clean up, repair and renovation of the country’s public schools gets underway.
In a common press statement, the Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA) and the EcoWaste Coalition expressed support for the
National Schools Maintenance Week, an annual program led by the
Department of Education, as both groups reminded organizers and
volunteers to avoid practices that may endanger their health and cause
environmental pollution in the school and the adjacent communities.
“We call upon our fellow teachers and every Brigada Eskwela
participant to be mindful of unsafe and unhealthy practices that we
often take for granted. These practices pose real risks to human health and the environment and should be avoided,” said Dr. Kahar H. Macasayon, President, PPSTA.
Some of these unsafe and unhealthy practices include the burning of
biodegradable and non-biodegradable discards, the inappropriate handling
and storage of busted mercury-containing fluorescent lamps and the
improper removal of paints and coatings that may contain lead, a potent
neurotoxin.
Vergara, Zero Waste Campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition explained that
“open burning, aside from being an unlawful act, generates loads of
environmental toxins such as dioxins and particulate matter.”
“The
reckless handling of fluorescent lamps may cause the glass tube to
break and release the health –damaging mercury vapor inside, while dry
sanding or scraping of lead paint will scatter toxic chips and dust that
kids may inhale or ingest through their normal hand-to-mouth behavior,”
she added.
1. Keep the residual trash to the minimum.
4. Turn bio-waste such as grasses, leaves and twigs into compost, and reuse and recycle the rest.
5. Spruce up the school’s ecology center or materials recovery facility (MRF).
8. Properly handle and manage busted mercury-containing fluorescent lamps and other “special waste.”
Observe “no smoking policy” as contained in DepEd Order 73-2010, R.A.
9211, the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 and other related policies.
The PPSTA
is the largest professional association of public school teachers in
the country, while the EcoWaste Coalition is a public interest
environmental network active on waste, climate change and chemical issues.
The EcoWaste Coalition has launched a “waste-free, toxic-free
back-to-school” campaign to promote zero waste and chemical safety in
the nation’ schools.
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