Talking garbage: Zero waste for zero warming

Zero waste for zero warming: Towards this goal, the metro’s green groups committed 100 percent of their time and efforts as they batted for innovations to beat the waste and climate crisis at a timely gathering of local government officials held in  Quezon City. The three-day national conference, organized by the Mother Earth Foundation (MEF), centered on the theme “Out of the Box, Out of the Dumps: Innovative Solutions to Waste” and was attended  by Sen. Pia Cayetano, chair of the Senate Committee on the Environment, Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, and Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio, with some 200 local government officials and other LGU representatives from Metro Manila and the regions.

The conference took place amid growing public pressure to rid the country’s deteriorating landscape of all illegal dumpsites that continue to thrive despite the explicit ban on open dumping under Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

“Anyone who generates waste has the responsibility to make sure that the waste is dealt with in a manner that will not bring harm to humans or other creatures or the environment. It therefore does away with the old, discredited practice of garbage hauling and dumping which pollutes our air, water and soil, and causes inestimable damage to our health and biodiversity,” says Marie Marciano, MEF president.“We need only to tap the creativity and resourcefulness inherent in the Filipino to achieve the healthy, waste-free, and beautiful environment we all hope for. Look to the simple, low-tech, local, and low-cost innovations in the grassroots, and watch your hopes grow.”

The conference zeroed in on the oft-neglected linkage between wasting and warming. As explained by the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), waste disposal directly contributes to the warming of the planet via the discharge of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from incinerators and methane from dumps and landfills. The outmoded burning or burying of discards also drives climate change by depriving the economy of reused, recycled, and composted materials.

Manny Calonzo of GAIA and EcoWaste Coalition asserts, “A climate-positive alternative, known as zero waste, hugely reduces greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the need for extraction, processing, and transport of raw materials, as well as avoiding emissions from disposal.”

EcoWaste Coalition defines zero waste as “the synergy of principles, cultures, beliefs, systems, methods, and technologies that aims to eliminate wasting and ensures full and beneficial use of resources to restore ecological balance and provide for the needs of all creation.”

In her message, Sen. Cayetano expressed hope that the gathering would “help bring total consciousness on the environmental problems we currently face due to irresponsible waste disposal.” The green groups can only heartily agree.

Among the recipients of the MEF’s “Out of the Box” Awards were the Northern Samar provincial government for issuing an official resolution to adopt the zero waste framework for the entire province; Caloocan City for being the first to employ the “citizen’s suit” in its push for citywide compliance  with RA 9003; Sta. Barbara, Iloilo for its municipal ban on plastic and promotion of earth-friendly alternatives; Teresa, Rizal for closing its dumpsite and taking steps to rehabilitate it; Barangay Bagumbuhay, Quezon City for residuals management; and Mayor Belmonte for his unique incentive program of giving back to barangays 50 percent of garbage hauling costs saved by the city as a result of their implementation of  ecological solid waste management, which diverts wastes from dumpsites.

Any more out-of-the-box green ideas?

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Help! There’s E. coli in my ice!

Now, here’s a totally uncool revelation: A project by grade school pupil Jasmine Roberts, who won the science fair in her school, compared the ice used in soft drinks at five fast-food restaurants in the US with water from the toilet bowls in the same restos and found that 70 percent of the time, the ice had more bacteria than the toilet water. Yuck!

In four of the five fast-food joints, the ice from the self-serve machines had more bacteria than the toilet bowl — and so did three out of the five cups of ice from the drive-thru windows. Sixty percent of the resto ice tested positive for E. coli (coming from the feces of animals, this can cause serious illness). Health experts say that while a certain amount of bacteria is considered harmless, no amount of E. coli is acceptable, however small.

Commenting on this, health maverick Dr. Joseph Mercola says that on top of sugar-loaded soft drinks causing obesity in the US, soft drinks dispensed through insufficiently cleaned fountains or filled with contaminated ice can expose us to more health-harming bacteria.

So, forget the ice and forget the soft drink. Your best bet is a glass of clean water.

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New carnapping scheme

This was passed on to us by well-meaning people via e-mail:

“Beware of the paper in the back window of your car. It’s another way to steal your car. You walk across the parking lot, unlock your car, and get inside. You start the engine and shift into reverse. When you look into the rearview mirror to back out of your parking space, you notice a piece of paper stuck to the middle of the rear window. So, you shift into park, unlock your doors, and jump out of your car to remove that paper (or whatever it is) that is obstructing your view. When you reach the back of your car, that is when the carjacker appears out of nowhere, jumps into your car, and takes off. They practically mow you down as they speed off in your car. And guess what, ladies? I bet your purse is still in the car. So now, the carjacker has your car, your home address, your money, and your keys.Your home and your whole identity are now compromised! Beware of this new scheme that is now being used. If you see a piece of paper stuck to your back window, just drive away.”

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We’d love to hear from you. E-mail us at ching_alano@yahoo.com.