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EcoWaste: Think of Mother Earth this Lent

April 1, 2023 Cory Martinez 226 views

SPEND the Holy Week with less carbon dioxide and less plastic waste.

This is the urgent call of the environment-advocate group, EcoWaste Coalition, to the faithful to keep the health and wellness of Mother Earth in mind while observing the Holy Week.

Ochie Tolentino, the group’s Zero Waste Campaigner, stressed that ecological conversion and solidarity are urgently needed amid the triple planetary emergencies involving climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, which threaten human health and livelihoods and the ecosystems upon which we depend on.

“As we remember and reflect on Christ’s sufferings, we appeal to the faithful to keep the Holy Week as low-carbon and plastic-free as much as possible,” Tolentino said.

“Together, let us use the holy days, as well as the long weekend, to turn away from practices that poison and destroy the environment and the climate with pollutants such as vehicular emissions and plastic chemicals and wastes,” she added.

In order to spend an environment-friendly Holy Week, the group recommended turning back on practices that pollute the environment, such as the careless use and disposal of single-use plastics and littering in pilgrimage sites during the “Passion Week” and after, minimizing the use of plastic tarpaulins, which may contain toxic cadmium and lead, for announcing Holy Week activities.

Politicians should do away with “Happy Easter” plastic banners and donate pre-loved clothes and other useful items to Caritas Manila’s Segunda Mana program and other donations-in-kind projects of other charitable organizations.

“As stewards or caretakers of God’s creation, it is our shared responsibility to demonstrate respect for the environment, especially when performing faith-based activities,” the group said.

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