Hope for litter-free Traslacion trashed

MANILA, Philippines — The return of Traslacion after a pandemic pause left a trail of trash, dashing an environmental group’s hopes for a clean observance of the religious procession. 

EcoWaste Coalition decried Tuesday the littering during the grand procession of the revered Black Nazarene statue, which was attended by 6.5 million people. Manila’s Department of Public Service (DPS) reported collecting 468 metric tons of garbage, equivalent to 158 truckloads. 

Ochie Tolentino, the group’s zero waste campaigner, said the piles of trash left behind by Black Nazarene devotees showed “a lack of respect for fellow humans and Mother Nature.”

“A clean Traslacion remains elusive,” Tolentino said. 

EcoWaste Coalition said its volunteers found Rizal Park—venue for the traditional “pahalik,” vigil, and “Misa Mayor”—littered with garbage despite the park’s “clean as you go” policy. 

It added that “an ugly carpet of trash” came into view as the carriage carrying the Black Nazarene statue left Quirino Grandstand. The streets of Quiapo were also filled with garbage. 

According to the group, single-use plastic bags, bottles, food containers, paper packaging, food waste, soiled diapers, improvised sleeping materials, cigarette butts and disposable vapes were among the most discarded items. 

Tolentino warned that discarded PET bottles, if not collected, would have ended up in landfills, storm drains and esteros, “aggravating the risk of flooding in the City of Manila and worsen plastic and microplastic pollution in Manila Bay and elsewhere.” 

Despite the mountains of garbage, EcoWaste Coalition remains hopeful that more devotees will heed the call for ecological conversion in the face of plastic pollution choking the capital region and the worsening climate crisis. 

Millions turned the streets of Manila into a sea of maroon and yellow Monday as they participated in the Traslacion, which was canceled for three years because of the pandemic. 

During the pre-pandemic Traslacion in 2020, the DPS collected 265 metric tons of garbage, equivalent to 99 truckloads.