Recycling: Parents and children must learn the fourth ‘r’
May 23, 2006 | 12:00am
Of course, we don’t need to remind all you students out there that school is just a few winks (ilang tulog na lang) away. So, it’s time to reset your body clocks. After two months of sleeping later than late to watch all the DVDs you could get your hands on or of partying till dawn or till you dropped, you must now reprogram your body back to your school routine (sigh!). That’s your first assignment, kids! And now, here’s one important (read: life-saving) homework for both children and parents: Master the fourth ‘r’ – that is, recycling.
Stop before you shop or join the long queues to the bookstores and malls – next to Christmas and Valentine’s Day, the school opening is probably the "buyingest" season of all. Look around you and see if there are things from last schoolyear that are eagerly waiting to be recycled this schoolyear. Like last schoolyear’s uniform that can still be altered to accommodate a few added pounds or added inches on the growth chart. There must be school stuff whose life can be extended for another schoolyear. Like Ate’s or Kuya’s textbooks (except, of course, if the school keeps changing textbooks schoolyear after schoolyear or the textbooks are beyond recycling, thanks to your careless Ate or Kuya).
Although a boon to commercial establishments, thoughtless spending could be a bane not only to our purse strings but also to our fragile environment, so stresses the Ecological Waste Coalition.
Thus, the Ecological Waste Coalition urges both parents and students to keep in mind the following down-to-earth tips on how to make the school opening a less wasteful and a more earth-sensitive exercise while keeping the school spirit. (Note: These reminders were developed with inputs from some University of the Philippines students who took part in a training course on ecological management of discards last semester.)
"Let every act of purchase be a vote for the environment," says Abigail Jabines of the Coalition. "Avoiding and minimizing wastefulness this schoolyear is a challenge we pose to school administrators and faculty, parents and students as well."
So, listen up, everybody:
• It is tempting to have new school supplies for the beginning of the schoolyear. But before heading to the nearest store, pause for a while and sort your supplies from the previous year. You might discover that you have enough that you can reuse that’s just gathering dust in your room. Clean sheets from old notebooks can be re-wired or sewn together to create a new one. Old pens might only need refills. Bags, lunch boxes, pencil cases, rulers can be reused. You may think that school handouts and notes from the previous year are of no use anymore. On the contrary, you can still make best use of these learning resources. Sort and set aside materials you might need, and lend or donate the rest to your friends who will be taking up the same subjects this year. Using the back of one-sided handouts and notes as scrap paper is also a good way to reuse paper before placing it in the recycling bin.
• After determining what you have that can still be reused, list down the things you need to buy. This trims down the urge to impulsively purchase unnecessary supplies.
• Choose to buy eco-friendly items such as notebooks with paper made out of recycled paper, refillable ball pens, and pencils, etc.
• Books are vital to one’s learning, but it’s common knowledge that they eat up a big chunk of school expenses. Ask friends or relatives if they have old books that you can borrow or scour second-hand bookstores before purchasing anything in your book list.
• Stashing old uniforms in your cabinet is the easiest way to store them. Donating old uniforms that are still in good condition is another option. But before buying a new set of uniforms, try on your old ones first. It might need altering and only require a visit to your friendly neighborhood modista instead of a new purchase.
• When shopping for your school needs in Divisoria or your favorite bookstore, cut back on the use of plastic bags by bringing reusable carry bags with you.
For more eco-friendly tips, call the Ecowaste Coalition at 929-0376.
And now, let’s read this e-mail from a retired nurse and veteran recycling trainor, Elsie Brandes de Veyra, who also heads the Ecowaste Coalition’s Wealth from Waste Work Group:
As basic units of the society, families play a critical part in the formation of earth-friendly values that attach importance to environmental conservation and protection. Green-thinking parents and children can contribute tremendously in the community appreciation of the fragile state of the planet and the urgent need for healing actions.
It is no secret that our natural resources are being depleted at high speed, particularly with the rising consumption of single-use disposable products and packaging. The diffusion of the fast-food and throw-away culture in cities and villages takes a heavy toll on our non-renewable resources.
The repair, reuse, and recycling of discards at the family level are great steps to turn the tide of wastefulness and resource destruction. Opting for eco-friendly choices and avoiding waste even before it is generated can further reduce the volume and toxicity of materials that individuals and families dispose of.
While conserving our precious resources, recycling also saves energy, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, persistent organic pollutants and other contaminants, and helps prevent global climate change. Recycling supplies feeds stock to factories, adds value to the economy, and creates jobs. Recycling, we should be reminded, is what feeds and sustains our thousands of waste pickers and their families.
The Ecowaste Coalition urges all families to get into the recycling loop. Be an ecological consumer, buy products with minimal packaging or packages that can be recycled, go for reusable alternatives to plastic bags, reduce your waste size, separate your discards, compost, and recycle for a healthier environment.
– Elsie Brandes De Veyra
Concerned Citizens Against Pollution/Ecowaste Coalition
Unit 320, Eagle Court
26 Matalino St., Quezon City
We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.
Stop before you shop or join the long queues to the bookstores and malls – next to Christmas and Valentine’s Day, the school opening is probably the "buyingest" season of all. Look around you and see if there are things from last schoolyear that are eagerly waiting to be recycled this schoolyear. Like last schoolyear’s uniform that can still be altered to accommodate a few added pounds or added inches on the growth chart. There must be school stuff whose life can be extended for another schoolyear. Like Ate’s or Kuya’s textbooks (except, of course, if the school keeps changing textbooks schoolyear after schoolyear or the textbooks are beyond recycling, thanks to your careless Ate or Kuya).
Although a boon to commercial establishments, thoughtless spending could be a bane not only to our purse strings but also to our fragile environment, so stresses the Ecological Waste Coalition.
Thus, the Ecological Waste Coalition urges both parents and students to keep in mind the following down-to-earth tips on how to make the school opening a less wasteful and a more earth-sensitive exercise while keeping the school spirit. (Note: These reminders were developed with inputs from some University of the Philippines students who took part in a training course on ecological management of discards last semester.)
"Let every act of purchase be a vote for the environment," says Abigail Jabines of the Coalition. "Avoiding and minimizing wastefulness this schoolyear is a challenge we pose to school administrators and faculty, parents and students as well."
So, listen up, everybody:
• It is tempting to have new school supplies for the beginning of the schoolyear. But before heading to the nearest store, pause for a while and sort your supplies from the previous year. You might discover that you have enough that you can reuse that’s just gathering dust in your room. Clean sheets from old notebooks can be re-wired or sewn together to create a new one. Old pens might only need refills. Bags, lunch boxes, pencil cases, rulers can be reused. You may think that school handouts and notes from the previous year are of no use anymore. On the contrary, you can still make best use of these learning resources. Sort and set aside materials you might need, and lend or donate the rest to your friends who will be taking up the same subjects this year. Using the back of one-sided handouts and notes as scrap paper is also a good way to reuse paper before placing it in the recycling bin.
• After determining what you have that can still be reused, list down the things you need to buy. This trims down the urge to impulsively purchase unnecessary supplies.
• Choose to buy eco-friendly items such as notebooks with paper made out of recycled paper, refillable ball pens, and pencils, etc.
• Books are vital to one’s learning, but it’s common knowledge that they eat up a big chunk of school expenses. Ask friends or relatives if they have old books that you can borrow or scour second-hand bookstores before purchasing anything in your book list.
• Stashing old uniforms in your cabinet is the easiest way to store them. Donating old uniforms that are still in good condition is another option. But before buying a new set of uniforms, try on your old ones first. It might need altering and only require a visit to your friendly neighborhood modista instead of a new purchase.
• When shopping for your school needs in Divisoria or your favorite bookstore, cut back on the use of plastic bags by bringing reusable carry bags with you.
As basic units of the society, families play a critical part in the formation of earth-friendly values that attach importance to environmental conservation and protection. Green-thinking parents and children can contribute tremendously in the community appreciation of the fragile state of the planet and the urgent need for healing actions.
It is no secret that our natural resources are being depleted at high speed, particularly with the rising consumption of single-use disposable products and packaging. The diffusion of the fast-food and throw-away culture in cities and villages takes a heavy toll on our non-renewable resources.
The repair, reuse, and recycling of discards at the family level are great steps to turn the tide of wastefulness and resource destruction. Opting for eco-friendly choices and avoiding waste even before it is generated can further reduce the volume and toxicity of materials that individuals and families dispose of.
While conserving our precious resources, recycling also saves energy, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, persistent organic pollutants and other contaminants, and helps prevent global climate change. Recycling supplies feeds stock to factories, adds value to the economy, and creates jobs. Recycling, we should be reminded, is what feeds and sustains our thousands of waste pickers and their families.
The Ecowaste Coalition urges all families to get into the recycling loop. Be an ecological consumer, buy products with minimal packaging or packages that can be recycled, go for reusable alternatives to plastic bags, reduce your waste size, separate your discards, compost, and recycle for a healthier environment.
– Elsie Brandes De Veyra
Concerned Citizens Against Pollution/Ecowaste Coalition
Unit 320, Eagle Court
26 Matalino St., Quezon City
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