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Green Group Says “Let Our Red Hearts Turn Green”

Quezon City. As Filipino romantics get set for their Valentine gimmicks, an environmental advocacy group called attention to the Pinoy´s growing appetite for disposables as a scourge on the environment and the climate.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a group espousing ecological and climate-friendly lifestyle changes, warned that society´s addiction to everything convenient, trendy and plastic is causing a tremendous stress on our diminishing natural resources and desecrating the environment.

“We find our romance with disposable things very alarming. The high demand for disposable items is eating up too much of our country’s store of raw materials and fossil fuels. At the same time, too many toxins are produced and too much waste is created in the production, consumption and disposal of these throw-away products,” said Gigie Cruz of the EcoWaste Coalition´s Task Force on Plastics.

“Let’s fall out of love for single-use disposables. A firm decision to demand for and use reusable stuff will have a positive impact on environmental health, especially in conserving resources, reducing wastes and cooling the planet,” added Cruz.

The EcoWaste Coalition is alarmed that disposable cups, straws, stirrers, cutlery, plates, bowls, napkins, placemats, take out containers and bags have grown to be regular fixtures of our increasingly throw-away culture.

“They have become so popular that we tend to take no notice of their health and environmental costs,” observed the EcoWaste Coalition.

Plastic disposables, the group pointed out, consume large quantities of petroleum, a non-renewable and climate polluting resource. They are not readily biodegradable and are often dumped into the surroundings as litter, clogging the waterways, choking marine animals and causing flashfloods. If burned, they release toxic pollutants such as dioxins, the most notorious man-made chemical poison known to science.

As we celebrate Valentine´s Day, the EcoWaste Coalition calls on all Filipino consumers to break free from our obvious addiction to disposables by choosing eco-friendly alternatives, including washable handkerchiefs in lieu of facial tissues, refillable mugs instead of foam, plastic or paper cups, durable tableware as opposed to plastic cutlery, and bayong (native bag made of plant materials) and other reusable carry bags rather than plastic grocery bags.

“It is our hope that more and more Filipinos will become lovers of Mother Earth and join the growing league of people around the globe that is saying no to plastic bags and other disposables. Let our red hearts turn green as we opt for eco-friendly alternatives,” the EcoWaste Coalition
stated.

EcoWaste Coalition
Unit 320, Eagle Court Condominium, Matalino St.
Quezon City, Philippines
+63 2 9290376
ecowastecoalition@yahoo.com