EcoWaste Coalition: Cut Christmas trash

• Source:http://www.mb.com.ph/dpwh-all-set-for-holiday-motorist-assistance/
• Friday, December 25, 2015 1:37 pm

(InterAksyon.com)

Quezon City - On Christmas Day, the waste and pollution watchdog EcoWaste Coalition urged kids and adults alike to mark the joyous occasion by repurposing, reusing and recycling the usual Christmas discards instead of simply tossing them to the bins, sidewalks or street corners.

Ecowaste appealed: Don't let garbage spoil the festive celebration.

"Let us honor the child Jesus by spreading love, not garbage, on this special day. We can do simple steps to stop useful materials from reaching the dumps and getting wasted," said Sonia Mendoza, Ecowaste President, said.

"Making Christmas less wasteful does not have to involve rocket science. Everyone regardless of age, gender and socioeconomic status can prevent and reduce the holiday trash with some creativity and common sense," she said.

"We hope that everyone will do their part to keep our communities glistening with safe Christmas lights and eco-friendly decorations, and not stinking due to abandoned mixed rubbish," she added.

To reduce the volume of residual Christmas garbage, EcoWaste recommends the following waste prevention and reduction tips:

•Get creative with edible food leftovers, which can be recycled into amazing meals. To spread the Christmas cheer and avoid food wastage, consider sharing spare food with the poor, jobless and homeless, as well as with people servicing your neighborhood such a. the village guards, garbage collectors, waste recyclers, etc.

•Carefully unwrap Christmas gifts and save the bags, boxes. bows and ribbons and wrappers for the next gift-sharing occasion. Christmas wrappers can be repurposed as book and notebook covers, Origami crane, paper garland or as materials for school art and craft projects.

•Save holiday greeting cards, gift labels, "ang pao" envelopes or red packets, which can be used as bookmarkers, or as decorations for Christmas tree, wreath and lantern decorations for next year's celebration. Christmas cards can be made into new cards or gift tags.

•Transform empty spent cans of juice and evaporated milk into improvised noisemakers to welcome the New Year. Fill the can with some bottle crowns, coins, keys or seeds and attach a wooden handle to make an instant maracas. Tin cans can also be used as garden pots or hanging planters, or as containers for school and office supplies.

•Reuse empty glass jars of cheese spread, fruit preserves and mayonnaise as containers for home-made achara (pickled green papaya), halayang ube (purple yam jam) and other holiday delicacies.

•Save recyclable discards, such as soda cans, plastic bottles, corrugated cardboard boxes, etc. to sell to junk shops or to give to itinerant waste pickers.

EcoWaste Coalition also encouraged families and businesses not to dump their garbage outside their houses or establishments or in street corners and vacant lots, but wait instead for the waste collection service to come pick them up.

Citizens who go to parks and recreational spots on Christmas day should drop litter from candy, chip or food wrappers at appropriate trash containers and leftovers at cigarette butt bins.