Plastic is everywhere. Public markets, grocery stores, sari-sari stores, among a myriad of other places all offer various sizes of plastic bags. Who will stop the use of plastic bags when they are used to carry cuts of raw pork and chicken? What is the alternative for pouring soft drinks into plastic bags, which, incidentally, are sipped through plastic straws? How will ice vendors pack water to sell as ice? Lawmakers may pass ordinances preventing the use of plastic but they must provide alternatives.
Plastic can be put to good use by people with good concerns. If individuals are educated on how to properly dispose of plastic, then their risk to the environment can likely be resolved. However, people just don’t know how to dispose of such waste properly. Whether they throw it into the sea, onto the soil, or burn it, people need to learn.
Ultimately, the reason why people do not know how to dispose of plastic properly is a lack of discipline. One can count on their fingers the number of barangay officials who are serious about preserving the environment. When they do not care about their communities, how could they be concerned for the environment?
Are clean barangay contests necessary? As mentioned in a column published last July: “There is no need for a contest to determine the cleanest barangay because it is already part of their duties. Local governments should not be participating in the Clean and Green Program, where awards are given for clean barangays – what then is the purpose of having barangay captains if its requires local governments to push them to fulfill their duties, even enticing them with cash prizes?”
When will discipline be the answer to a clean environment? A thousand years from now, maybe when the earth is at its worst.
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This column greets Department of Tourism-Region 6 director, Atty. Helen J. Catalbas; Land Transportation Office-Region 6 Director Roland Ramos; Department of Agriculture assistant secretary, Atty. Hansel Didulo; Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea; Renato Novero; Bago City Mayor Nicholas Yulo; Jeffrey Ferrer; Talisay City Mayor Neil Lizares III; Marikina City first district Rep. Bayani Fernando; Zamboanga del Norte first district Rep. Frederick ‘Bullet’ Jalosjos; Marides Fernando; Tala Fernando-Ang; Daisy Reyes; and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence ‘Bong’ Go./WDJ