Trash Talk

A grown man in denim overalls and a short, balding dummy were talking trash to the crowd, which is composed mostly of children, some of whom came with their parents. To be precise about the whole thing though, the man was giving a lecture on proper trash disposal. And yes, there was a dummy. Because the man was a ventriloquist.

The lecture, called the "Palabas Pang-kalikasan ng Isuzu Philippines Corporation" is part of this vehicle manufacturer’s environmental conservation program, and is jointly organized and sponsored by Probe Foundation and Caltex Philippines. Aiming to raise environmental awareness among the communities around Isuzu’s backyard in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, the show was formatted to attract kids, the organizers apparently believing in the adage "start ‘em young."

Last July 27 in the towns of Biñan and Sta. Rosa, Probe Foundation personnel facilitated the lectures, explaining to the kids how proper trash disposal can help in avoiding larger issues that affect the environment. The lecturer/ventriloquist made it clear to the audience that among other factors, the indiscriminate disposal of trash, particularly on waterways, leads to flooding, which ultimately leads to health and sanitation problems as well. Of course, all these in a language children can very much relate to, video clips of Probe’s 5 and Up TV show segments on environmental awareness included. And by tying up health issues with environmental concerns, the children were made to understand the whole thing on a personal level also.

The show was a perfect venue for Isuzu to crow about their company’s environmental policies too, particularly on–you guessed it–trash disposal. Isuzu AVP for manufacturing Jun Batalla stressed building vehicles obviously generates waste materials, most dangerous of which are emissions from the painting process. He says simply disposing of this water-and-chemical mix emissions on the local drainage system is downright irresponsible and thus an unacceptable environmental practice. In their Waste Water Treatment Plant, Batalla continues, this potent emission undergoes a cleansing process before being disposed. But since the process involved requires technical language that is difficult to explain to the audience, Batalla didn’t go into specifics anymore.

Isuzu senior manager for corporate affairs Myrna Gonzales, however, backs up Batalla’s story through something most everyone can relate to. She said that they actually have a small pond in the Isuzu plant containing water from the water treatment system where tilapia is raised. This proves that the emission to be disposed in the drainage system is certified clean, since it clearly doesn’t pose any risk to life forms. Gonzales even added that the tilapia are quite edible too. And this, she told us, while we were driving our way to lunch. Hmmm, yummy.

There’s definitely nothing like a bit of trash talk before meals. No tilapia were served, however. And the kids were fed with Jollibee takeouts.