EcoWaste Coalition Pushes for Eco-Friendly Brigada Eskwela to Lessen Trash and Pollution
The EcoWaste Coalition, an environmental and health watch
group, reminded participants of the week-long Brigada Eskwela starting May 20
to ensure that school cleanup, repair and renovation activities are done in an
eco-friendly manner.
“We laud the yearly conduct of the DepEd-led Brigada
Eskwela, which is an excellent expression of the timeless Filipino bayanihan
spirit,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“As stakeholders partake in this outstanding voluntary
effort, we urge them to avoid practices that tend to generate more trash and
pollution such as mixed waste disposal, open burning and dumping, and the use
of leaded paints and hazardous cleaning agents,” he said.
The group also asked poll winners, as well as losers, to
"quietly" help in the Brigada Eskwela as a way of thanking the public
for their support in the recently concluded midterm elections.
“In lieu of post-election ‘thank you’ tarpaulins, we
invite well-meaning politicians to join, without fanfare, school cleanup
activities or donate Brigada Eskwela essentials such as brooms and broomsticks,
dust pans, rags, soaps, buckets, non-mercury LED lamps, and lead-safe paints,”
Dizon said.
Dizon cited the need to observe DepEd D.O. 05, series of
2014, which states, among other provisions,
that “every school shall practice waste management principles, such as
(waste) minimization, specifically resource conservation and recovery,
segregation at source, reduction, recycling, reuse and composting, in order to
promote environmental awareness and action.”
To encourage adherence to the said DepEd regulation, the
EcoWaste Coalition offered the following eco-tips, which are also in line with
R.A. 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act), R.A. 6969 (Toxic Substances
and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Act),
R.A. 9211 (Tobacco Regulation Act), DENR A.O. 2013-24 (Chemical Control
Order for Lead and Lead Compounds), DILG Memorandum Circular 2018-26 (Mandatory
Use of Lead-Safe Paints by LGUs), DepEd D.O. 04-2017 (Mandatory Use of
Lead-Safe Paints in Schools) and DepEd D.O. 73-2010 (Smoking Ban in Public
Schools):
1. Observe the
proper segregation of discards at source to facilitate their recycling or
composting, and to minimize the volume of garbage for disposal.
2. Do not set
trash on fire to prevent the generation of environmental pollutants such as
fine particles, heavy metals and dioxins.
3. Compost
biodegradable discards such as yard trimmings to produce natural fertilizer or
soil enhancer for the school garden.
4. Clean up the school’s Materials
Recovery Facility (MRF), also known as Ecology Center, including the containers
or segregators for properly-labeled recyclable and compostable discards.
5. Handle busted
fluorescent lamps with care to prevent mercury spill; do not mix such lamps
with ordinary trash, and properly store and dispose of them as hazardous waste.
6. Choose safer
cleaning agents and refrain from using hazardous substances that are corrosive
to the eyes, skin and respiratory tract such as oxalic and muriatic acid.
7. Use only
certified lead-safe paints for school interiors, exteriors, furniture and
fixtures, gymnasium, play equipment and other school amenities.
8. Keep children
and pregnant women out of the work area (lead is very hazardous to developing
fetuses).
9. Refrain from
dry sanding or dry scraping painted surfaces that might contain lead so as not
to disperse lead dust into the surroundings.
10. Clean up paint
chips immediately.
11. Use moist mop
or rag to rid floors, windows, window frames and sills, chairs and tables and
other surfaces of dust, and wash it thoroughly after use.
12. Wash hands properly with soap and water before meals
and after the work is done.
13. After a repainting job, change clothes before going
home, set aside in a sealed reusable bag and wash separately.
14. Clean or remove shoes and slippers
before entering your home to avoid bringing in soil that may contain lead into
the house.
15. Keep the
school premises smoke-free by not smoking or vaping.
“The observance of these eco-tips will help ensure a waste-free and toxics-free
Brigada Eskwela for the benefit of the entire school community and the
environment,” Dizon said.
-end-
Reference:
http://www.deped.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DO_s2014_05.pdf
http://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RA-9003.pdf
http://emb.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/RA-6969.pdf
http://server2.denr.gov.ph/uploads/rmdd/dao-2013-24.pdf
http://www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-4-s-2017
http://www.deped.gov.ph/orders/do-73-s-2010
https://www.dilg.gov.ph/issuances/mc/Mandatory-use-of-Lead-Safe-Paints-by-LGUs/2658
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