AFTER the ruthless and wasteful electoral campaign, cleaning up could be a good way to put political bitterness behind us and usher in peace and reconciliation, especially among divided families and communities.
All poll candidates – the winners and losers alike – are being challenged to go out of the streets and take the lead in removing campaign materials and salvaging whatever can be reused, repurposed or recycled, and clean schools and streets of sample ballots.
Yes, while everybody’s still talking about yesterday’s election results, let us pause for a moment and address one observation – rampant littering of sample ballots and campaign posters.
Candidates must show their sense of environmental responsibility and sportsmanship by taking the initiative of clearing their areas regardless of the poll results. Their supporters must to the same, too, for this much-needed post-voting cleanup.
Also, the candidates and their throng of volunteers, as well as government cleaners, are also reminded against the polluting practice of dumping or burning the discarded materials. According to the EcoWaste Coalition, open dumping and open burning, which are unlawful under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, will only turn a largely solid waste problem into a chemical problem. Both open dumping and open burning can lead to the discharge of nasty chemical pollutants into the air, water and soil, which can harm human health and the environment.
Instead of dumping or burning the removed campaign materials, post-campaign clean-up participants must properly sort discarded materials and to reuse, repurpose or sell them to junk shops.
