330 tons of trash collected along Traslacion route
MANILA, Philippines — Despite constant reminders from environmental groups and government agencies, devotees of the Black Nazarene still left a trail of trash along the procession route.
Around 68 tons of garbage was collected Friday morning, figures from the Manila Department of Public Services showed. This was equivalent to 330 tons of trash.
The figure was lower than the 387.4 tons of garbage collected in the previous year, according to the data from the Manila Public Information Office.
Environmental group EcoWaste Coalition said devotees left mixed garbage, including sleeping materials, food leftovers, urine-filled plastic bottles, dirty diapers and hordes of single-use plastics at the site of the overnight vigil in Quirino Grandstand.
The streets in the Quaipo district were also littered with plastic water bags, cups, bottles and polystyrene food containers.
“There’s plastic garbage in every nook and corner, especially in places where devotees gather together to rest and wait for the andas to arrive,” Jove Benosa, EcoWaste zero waste campaigner, said.
He noted that single-use plastics clog waterways, blocking water flow causing flash floods as well as polluting the oceans.
“The call for an environmentally-responsible expression of piety and devotion to the Black Nazarene again fell on deaf ears. Many of the devotees have yet to internalize our shared responsibility to be good stewards of Mother Earth,” Benosa said.
The Traslacion of the Black Nazarene held Thursday lasted around 16 hours, the fastest in recent years.
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