Undas, waste, WTE

Once again, Filipinos will flock to cemeteries to visit their departed. Aside from prayers, candles, flowers, expect cemeteries to be filled with trash during this period.

- Cherry Piquero-Ballescas

While we welcome the proactive measures Cebu Mayor Nestor has taken to regulate and manage the UNDAS waste, this year's UNDAS may be another appropriate time for us all to seriously consider our own responsibility/contribution to effective waste management, protective of people and planet.

Never mind if we sound like a broken record repeating again and again and again this same simple yet ignored fact that waste is generated by people.

Waste is disposed of by people. Waste comes from people's hands. If waste comes from people's hands, then the problem of waste can be solved by people properly reminded not to throw wastes with their hands.

Households, schools, churches, offices, businesses, industries, factories, others more generate waste but people within these locations are the ones who dispose of the waste.

Therefore, shouldn't the solution of waste start from waste generation and target waste generation and those who throw the waste?

Don't you wonder why the present and conventional solution to waste focus mainly on waste collection and disposal, rather than waste avoidance, waste reduction, minimization before generation?