by Ricky Jimenez
For us as consumers, making a positive impact in our own family circle, the community, the environment in general is a simple matter of changing the way we think and our pattern of consumption.
How? It should start with the realization that every decision we make directly affects the environment on planet Earth. Whether at home, in school, at work, at play, in the beach, the mall or wherever, the choices we make are either a vote for or against the environment.
Take the case of the ordinary garbage. A study shows that on the average, a consumer creates .4 kilo of garbage a day. Of this volume, 62% is compostable or biodegradable, 20% residual or non-biodegradable, 10% recyclables, and 8% special. Four characterizations, that’s all there is to it. Four garbage bins to prepare at home, no less, no more.
Whether you agree or not, everyone is a consumer, from the womb to the tomb, from the highest city official to the newest baby born in the hospital, because we all generate garbage. A responsible consumer’s thought process begins with the realization that we are responsible for the garbage we create. When he or she does that, the immediate impact is an orderly home, workplace, community neighborhood, and ultimately a healthy environment.
Consider the effect of a mere waste disposal. Let us say, feminine napkins or pantyliners are bunched with used baby diapers, along with plastic wrappers, candy, shampoo, coffee, creamer, shampoo sachets, medicine foils, old kitchen scrubbers, old ballpens and other broken pieces of disposable items, etc, and wrapped together as “residual waste”, and later given to the garbage dumpster, do you realize what we as consumer have just accomplished? We have effectively reduced our household waste by 20%. Not only that, we have prevented the non-biodegradables from clogging the drainage systems and canals. This is classic civic duty in actual practice. The result? Less floodings, less desiltation and declogging operations, less health risks.
As earlier pointed out, residual waste is just one of four types of garbage we are under obligation to segregate and manage, under the Solid Waste Management Act of 2000 or RA 9003 and the city ordinance on the same subject matter. Just four, Jesus Christ! Yet very few ever take notice. In Japan, households are required to segregate up to 36 types of household garbage. Failure to do so means no collection, court prosecution and heavy penalty.
The recent dengue outbreak in Davao City caused by the aedis aegypti mosquitoes, which exacted a heavy toll on human lives, was something very preventable, the climate change situation notwithstanding. The bottom line was public neglect of basic cleanliness and sanitation of the surroundings. We had to learn our lessons the hard way.
The consequent massive city wide, barangay-by-barangay clean up drive to drain stagnant water where mosquitoes breed, trim bushes and tall grasses where the dengue-virus carrying pest would hide, at best, was a major expense account that should easily run in the millions of pesos, scarce resources that could have been put to better use, if consumers did their share in waste management.
It is most unfortunate that earlier public education and information campaigns on waste management did not produce the desired results. Having said that, what really matters is how ultimately, we as consumers should be doing with our own garbage. In short, what needs to change is our way of thinking: we should see the connection between our being waste generator and the pollution of the environment. Just his aspect of being responsible for our actions and decisions as consumer will go a long way in attaining the change we need to bring in our family circle, the neighborhood and everywhere we go. (for your comments, email me at rjrjrajimenez@gmail.com)
