Public urged: Avoid littering for New Year

CEBU, Philippines - The Ecowaste Coalition, a waste and pollution watchdog, has appealed to the public to welcome the New Year without littering.

The group, which is advocating for a Zero Waste Philippines, said the joyful welcome of 2015 need not turn the streets and parks into garbage dumps.

"For a change, let us wrap up 2014 and kick off 2015 in a manner that will mirror our personal and communal concern and responsibility for the environment. Please mind your trash and litter not," said Aileen Lucero, the group's coordinator, in a statement.

Although strictly forbidden under Republic Act 9003 (the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act) and complementary local ordinances, the group observed that littering is still rampant.

The group observed that revelers who troop to public parks for New Year's Eve and entertainment often leave "media noche" food leftovers and their polystyrene containers, disposable cutlery, plastic bottles and cups and soiled paper on the ground or on gutters and sidewalks.

The group also pointed out that in the streets, it's not uncommon to see mixed garbage bins and heaps, including dangerous remnants of firecrackers and fireworks.

"These wasteful practices need to die out as we hail the New Year. It will be embarrassing to observe January 2015 as 'Zero Waste Month' as proclaimed by P-Noy with our communities buried in preventable garbage," Lucero said.

In May last year, President Benigno Aquino III issued Proclamation 760 declaring January of each year as "Zero Waste Month," saying that "zero waste is a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary to guide people in changing their lifestyles and practices to emulate sustainable natural cycles, where all discarded materials are designed to become resources for others to use."

Lucero added that as children of Mother Earth, it is the people's shared task to look after the health and safety of their communities and the environment at large, ensuring that their actions conserve and protect, not inflict further damage, on an ailing planet.  (FREEMAN)