Eco-friendly holidays and celebrations
The 2019 SEA Games will soon be over. There has, so far, been no coverage about the waste situation during the games. We wonder if a waste management system was also planned so that no huge budget will again be expended or wasted on basura, on waste.
Celebrations are also in the air as Christmas draws near. The decorations in homes and malls are such delight to see. A number have drawn so many visitors who go there for photo sessions!
While we are delighted to see much glitter and color around us this time of the year, we wonder how many of these holiday decors are eco-friendly. How many of these will not add to the waste stream that will incur funds and result in damage to our natural environment? How many have prepared decors and celebrations that will respect and protect our environment?
Is an eco-friendly holiday ever possible? How many even bother to think about the environment during holidays and celebrations?
In social media, there are a number of reminders to go eco-friendly this season. Instead of excessive, oil-based wrappings and packages, people are enjoined to make their gift-giving simpler. Most gift wrappers and packaging, after the gift or item is opened, are just discarded. And because segregation is not yet a regular practice in most homes in this country, the wrappers, the packaging and all other types of wastes are disposed and lumped together. Then you have the filthy, stinking problematic waste all around, before, during, and especially after Christmas Day till after New Year when the garbage collectors and trucks are also on holiday break!
People are also enjoined to refrain from buying more plastic items as gifts for Christmas. Some suggestions are to give seedlings or plants to encourage more to help fight the climate crisis.
If you are among those who are concerned about the planet and our environment, you can visit websites that offer products that are “compostable, biodegradable, recyclable, water-saving, and reduce pollution- eco-friendly gifts that are kind to people and our planet.”
When you are shopping, you may also wish to spend some minutes to check whether the items you are buying are eco-friendly or not. Your thoughtful consideration and selection of eco-friendly gifts and ways to celebrate are a beautiful gift back from you to God our Creator, to people, and to our planet! Your eco-friendly practice can contribute to efforts to help prevent the worsening of the present climate emergency.
We can also encourage our family, and relatives, our neighbors and circle of friends, our church congregation, our officemates to go eco-friendly these holidays. Please also do responsible waste management wherever you are, always helping to segregate waste.
We also enjoin local government units to do segregation and other eco-friendly waste management reminders and campaigns especially during Christmas, New Year, and Sinulog when more people congregate and celebrate! The reminders can be creatively done to cheer constituents to hold responsible waste management celebrations.
By all means, let us celebrate this season to the max with our loved ones! But if Jesus is the reason for this season, then let us heed the call of the Church to protect God’s earth, especially during holidays and celebrations!
And we hope the Church will lead the eco-friendly holidays and celebrations with timely and regular calls for all believers to walk their faith by protecting God’s world and his creations.
Oh, if only priests and other religious leaders can loudly and consistently herald and echo the call for all to remember to protect our earth while celebrating!
- Latest
