As millions of Filipinos gear up for the annual pilgrimage this Holy Week, a local waste and pollution watchdog called on the faithful to give Mother Earth a break from plastic pollution.
This early, Holy Week activities, especially the traditional “pabasa,” “visits to churches and pilgrimage sites, “Alay-Lakad” to Antipolo City, “Santo Entierro,” the Easter “Salubong” and related events, are already a cause for concern for erring litterbugs who indiscriminately discard their wastes.
“As we are invited to meditate on Jesus’ journey to the Cross and beyond, this is also an opportune time for devout Catholics to reflect on how plastic pollution caused mainly by SUPs [single-use plastics] is affecting the People and the Planet.
We appeal to the faithful to steer away from the insidious throw-away culture that is turning our lands and oceans into dumping grounds and observe climate-friendly and SUP-free practices for the sake of our environment. As stewards of God’s Creation, we are inviting everyone to act with compassion and urgency to save Mother Earth,” Ochie Tolentino, Zero Waste Campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition said.
The group also echoes the plea of Caritas Philippines, a member of the EcoWaste Coalition, for a more sustainable Holy Week observance. “As stewards of God’s Creation, let us reflect on the impact of our actions on the environment during this Holy Week,” said San Carlos Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, Vice President of Caritas Philippines. “We can honor the sacred occasion by embracing practices that lessen waste and pollution.”
In the previous years, the coalition monitored pervasive littering in some popular pilgrimage churches and sites. The most common items discarded by uncaring visitors are used plastic bags, bottles, cups and cutlery, cigarette butts, and food containers.
“We hope that, unlike the previous Holy Weeks, the pilgrims will take ‘cleanliness is next to godliness’ to heart, lessen their usage of single use plastics, and never drop any litter during their observance of the Holy Week,” Tolentino said.
Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act bans littering and violators can be fined from P300 to P1000 asked to perform one to 15-day community service, or be required to pay the fine as well as render community service.
Towards a SUP-free Holy Week, the Ecowaste Coalition invited the faithful to practice the following:
- Don’t use and carelessly dispose of SUPs, especially in pilgrimage sites;
- Minimize the use of plastic tarpaulins, which may contain toxic cadmium and lead, for announcing Holy Week activities;
- Segregate waste materials at its source to reuse, repair, and recycle inorganic or non-biodegradable discards, and compost organic or biodegradable materials;
- For those going out of town, remember: “Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, kill nothing but time”;
- Observe litter-free and smoke-free conduct of the Senakulo, Alay Lakad, and other events; and
- Add an environmental dimension to the Via Crucis on Good Friday by picking up litter along the route.