Littering spoils annual Antipolo Lent pilgrimage anew

MANILA, Philippines - Bad habits die hard.

As in previous years, widespread littering spoiled the annual penitential walk to Antipolo City in Rizal on Holy Thursday and Good Friday, the EcoWaste Coalition lamented.

Among the most littered items along the “Alay-Lakad” route were candy and snack wrappers, “suman” palm leaf wrappers, food leftovers, plastic bags, PET bottles, cigarette filters, and corrugated boxes, newspapers and other improvised sleeping materials, EcoWaste said           

EcoWaste still hopes though that the faithful will become responsible and mindful of the garbage they churn out in religious events.

“Let nothing be wasted anymore as we carry out our faith-inspired endeavors,” it said.

Littering, according to EcoWaste Coalition, is prohibited under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 and Antipolo’s Ordinance 2008-287, or the city’s “Basura (Garbage) Code.”               

The group, however, lauded pilgrims who took time out to pick up litter, helping cut down the garbage generated during the annual pilgrimage.

It also complimented the informal sector for retrieving corrugated boxes, newspapers and PET bottles along the “Alay-Lakad” route.           

“At the shrine of Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage and adjacent places, we found waste pickers in the sea of devotees, collecting recyclables left by the pilgrims,” said Rey Palacio, Informal Waste Sector Project coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition.           

“The waste pickers, who many still hold in low esteem, prevented valuable materials from entering the waste stream. By recycling, they averted the environmental and climate damage associated with garbage disposal, as well as with the production, transportation and consumption of virgin materials,” Palacio said

“Indeed the informal waste sector contributes tremendously to resource conservation, environmental protection and disposal cost reduction. We acknowledge and thank them,” he added.           

EcoWaste also lauded Antipolo’s street sweepers for quickly getting the trash off the streets.