The social action arm of the Philippine Catholic bishops’ conference and pro-environment group EcoWaste Coalition urged Filipinos to observe a “green Christmas” and avoid “holitrash” or holiday trash during the holidays.
“There’s no excuse for generating ‘holitrash,’ which can only add to the huge volume of single-use plastic waste and medical waste as a consequence of the pandemic,” said Father Antonio Labiao, executive secretary of Caritas Philippines.
He urged parishes to encourage the faithful to hold “simple” Christmas celebrations to avoid producing a lot of trash.
Jove Benosa, zero-waste campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition, said that generating a lot of waste is not a sign of a genuine Christmas celebration.
“We should make use of our inherent creativity and kindness to reduce our carbon footprint during the most joyous time of the year,” said Benosa.
Caritas Philippines and EcoWaste Coalition launched a project dubbed “CHRISTMASAYA ‘PAG WALANG AKSAYA!: Alternative Decor at Regalo para sa Zero Waste Pasko” on December 12 in Intramuros.
Various Christmas decorations made of recycled materials were the highlights of the exhibition that was held in cooperation with the Intramuros Administration.
