Black Nazarene Devotees Urged to Aim for a Trash-Less Traslacion
With the much-awaited re-enactment of the Traslacion just
a few days away, the EcoWaste Coalition
has sought the cooperation of all Black Nazarene devotees in minimizing
the generation of garbage during the mammoth celebration.
As January is also marked as the “Zero Waste Month,” the
group appealed to the devotees, the Parish of Saint John the Baptist (Quiapo
Church), the Archdiocese of Manila, Manila City Government, Metro Manila
Development Authority, and all concerned barangays and civil society groups to
work together to make the Traslacion trash-free.
“The objective should not simply focus on how quick the
garbage is swept, collected and hauled, but on how the generation of garbage
can be prevented and reduced to the minimum,” said Daniel Alejandre, Zero Waste
Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
The group specifically urged the millions of Black
Nazarene devotees who will take part in the massive procession on January 9
from Rizal Park to Quiapo to take waste prevention seriously.
“We appeal to the devotees of the Black Nazarene to take
waste prevention to heart as they fulfill their religious vows. Let it not be said that the age-old
Traslacion has again turned into a ‘trash-lacion’ sullying every nook and
corner of the processional route with garbage,” said Alejandre.
Citing data from the Manila City Government, the group
lamented that 385 tons of mixed garbage were collected by government personnel
and volunteers from Quirino Grandstand in Rizal Park to the Quiapo district
during the traditional “Pahalik” and procession in 2018. This figure is 11% higher than the 341 tons
of garbage collected during the 2017 Traslacion.
Year in and year out, the feast of the Black Nazarene is
besmirched by tons of mixed garbage abandoned on the streets and sidewalks of
the city of Manila, especially at Rizal Park and the roads and barangays where
the six-kilometer procession will traverse through.
Among the typical waste materials collected are food
wastes, polystyrene food containers, plastic cups and cutlery, plastic and
paper bags, plastic straws, bamboo skewers, and cigarette filters, which often
end up going to the dumps, the group said.
“As this year is election year, we appeal to all
politicos not to use the Traslacion to popularize their names and to add more
garbage to the occasion,” stated Alejandre.
The group asked politicians, political parties and party
list groups not to put up tarpaulin banners along the processional route, as
well as distribute campaign leaflets to
the crowd.
“We also encourage well-meaning individuals and groups to
offer devotees with food and water in reusable containers and not in single-use
plastic or paper containers, which are hardly retrieved and recycled,” added
Alejandre.
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