IN a last-ditch effort to avoid the avalanche of trash as the campaign for the May 14 polls hits the homestretch, a local environmental coalition renewed its appeal to all the 87,000 candidates for the synchronized national and local elections to follow preventive measures to keep the campaign trash to a minimum.

The EcoWaste Coalition challenged the candidates and their supporters to heed the repeated plea by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and advocates for waste-free elections against practices that violate the Fair Elections Act as well as national and local laws against littering, open dumping and open burning of discards.

“We urge the electorate not to vote for candidates who nail, staple, strap or plaster campaign materials on defenseless trees and other unauthorized places. Let us throw our support behind ecology-minded bets who care for community health and the environment, use the least amount of campaign materials and abide by the campaign rules,” Ofelia Panganiban, veteran recycling advocate and Steering Committee member of the Eco­waste Coalition, said in a statement.

The eco-group lamented that the Comelec appears helpless in dealing with candidates who shamelessly break the campaign rules despite repeated threats of disqualification. The Comelec should exercise its mandate, firmly enforce the law and prosecute the guilty parties, stated the Coalition.

Citing reports by the Coalition’s “waste-free elections patrol,” the plastering of political propaganda outside the designated areas has become the rule rather than an exemption in most communities. The Coalition is particularly disturbed by the proliferation of political buntings as if the sky is a common poster area.

Campaign “banderitas” made of plastic, according to the Coalition’s volunteers, are most conspicuous in vote-rich communities in Metro Manila.

“If only the violated trees, walls and sky can speak, they will reprimand erring candidates pointblank and instruct voters not to vote for them on May 14,” commented, Panganiban.

The EcoWaste Coalition expressed alarm over the anticipated rise in the volume of discarded posters, pamphlets, sample ballots and buntings as the election day approaches, stressing that this will only exacerbate the country’s continuing problem with mismanaged trash.

The solid waste generation in Metro Manila is about 6,700 metric tons of waste per day. Some 25-35% of the uncollected waste are disposed of through open dumping and open burning, which are both illegal and harmful to community health and the environment.

Statistics obtained from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) show a huge increase in the amount of trash collected in 15 flood pumping stations in the metropolis, from 13,988 cubic meters in 2005 to 18,796 cubic meters in 2006, indicating a failure to implement the anti-dumping law.

Appeal for election waste cuts

IN a last-ditch effort to avoid the avalanche of trash as the campaign for the May 14 polls hits the homestretch, a local environmental coalition renewed its appeal to all the 87,000 candidates for the synchronized national and local elections to follow preventive measures to keep the campaign trash to a minimum.

Japan scored due to nuke proposal

KYOTO, Japan—Greenpeace expressed shock at the statement delivered by the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) board chairman, Japan’s Finance Minister Koji Omi, on the penultimate day of the Bank’s 40th Annual Meeting in Kyoto. After acknowledging the vital role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in reducing Asia’s carbon dioxide emissions, Minister Omi proposed that nuclear power could be “a key solution for the climate change problem” and praised initiatives that work against the Kyoto Protocol, rather than ensure steps toward meaningful emission cuts for the Kyoto Protocol’s continuation after 2012.