Clean up campaign materials in 3 days, LGUs told

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered all cities, municipalities and provinces to clean up all campaign materials by Friday.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said that local government units (LGUs) and candidates must remove and dispose of all campaign materials within three days.

“Clean-up of election litter is the first order of business after the polls. Aside from incumbent LGU officials, we urge all candidates, winners and non-winners alike, to take it upon themselves to lead in the removal of their campaign materials,” he said yesterday in a statement.

The DILG said that proper disposal of election materials should be ensured to follow environmental laws and local ordinances and regulations against illegal dumping, open burning and littering.

Año said that barangays and LGUs should follow proper waste collection practices and try to restore or recycle campaign waste materials.

He urged the public to join clean-up drives in their communities.

“We have done our part in exercising our right to vote. Let’s continue to participate in governance through our simple way of cleaning up our neighborhood from election litter,” he said.

During the 2019 midterm elections, over 168.84 tons of campaign materials were collected, the DILG said.

Environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition has urged both winning and losing candidates to take the lead in reusing and repurposing their campaign materials.

“Regardless of your poll standing, we appeal to all candidates to exemplify your concern for Mother Earth and for public welfare by finding ways to prevent your publicity materials from ending up in waste dumps and furnaces and, God forbid, the oceans,” EcoWaste national coordinator Aileen Lucero said in a press statement.

The group said that in addition to decreased garbage volume, reusing and repurposing campaign materials “would reduce disposal costs, prevent releases of chemical pollutants into the environment, conserve resources and instill environmental awareness and responsibility among our people.”

“Dumping and burning campaign materials will be a huge waste of resources including energy consumed in making the seemingly incalculable number of posters, leaflets and other popular paraphernalia used for the May 2022 national and local polls. It will further result in environmental pollution,” Lucero said.

At an event in Quezon City yesterday, the group, together with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), showed how paper-based campaign materials can be reused or repurposed.

Sample ballots were turned into notepads with the use of binding glue, fasteners, ribbons or strings. Cardboard posters were cut to make bookmarks, envelopes, folders, name plates and other school needs.

Polyethylene plastic posters were reused as book and notebook covers, and the sturdier polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic tarpaulin posters were cut and sewn into tote bags of various sizes.

Tarpaulins were also made into shoe parts, strings, laundry and toiletry bags, as well as waist bags for electricians and janitors. They were also transformed into aprons, letter and tool organizers and waste sorters.?

EcoWaste said the tarps could also be repurposed as awnings or canopies for homes and stores, upholstery material and as a protective shield against sun and rain for jeepneys, pedicabs and tricycles.

It advised the public to only reuse or repurpose tarps for non-food and non-child applications, warning that tarps may contain hazardous chemicals such as cadmium and phthalates, which may leach and contaminate the food or expose children to chemical risks.? –  Elizabeth Marcelo