AS CAN be seen from the overflowing household bins and dump trucks and the countless garbage heaps dotting the streets, the festive holiday season is when the throw-away mindset is at its worst. If you rummage through the bins, you will easily find the most discarded items during this time of the year such as packaging for toys, gift boxes and wrappers, shopping bags, disposable food containers and, yes, lots of food waste.
Let us celebrate safely and sustainably as the entire planet grapples with the unprecedented climate, plastic and COVID-19 woes. Excessive consumption puts tremendous pressure on nature where resources are obtained to create products for our needs and wants, which often leads to degraded and polluted ecosystems.
The public is thus encouraged to put the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) at the heart of this year’s festivity. For example, holiday shoppers are advised to bring a stash of reusable bags and containers when going to the mall or market and shun both paper and plastic bags to reduce bag waste. Consumers are also reminded to bring along a shopping list to avoid impulsive buying and unnecessary spending.
Instead of new gift wrappers, givers can opt not to wrap Christmas presents at all or, if wrapping is desired, reuse old bandannas, handkerchiefs, fabric remnants, jars, shoe boxes, newspapers and magazines instead. Bags, boxes and wrappers of gifts received should be neatly kept for reuse next gift-giving and not simply thrown to the dumps.
As waste is created by mixing discarded materials, keep discards separated in line with Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. Non-biodegradable discards such as aluminum and tin cans, glass and plastic bottles, cartons and others can be repurposed, reused or recycled, while the biodegradable discards such as food waste can be fed to animals or composted to produce soil amendments for the garden or farm.
By keeping our holiday consumption within bounds and by cutting back on what we dispose of and recycling even more, we can be a Santa Claus to Mother Earth. Yes, let this be a token of our appreciation for our one and only planet Earth – we can reduce, reuse and recycle holiday discards.
