EcoWaste Coalition Welcomes Reduced Littering inside Voting Centers, Laments Littering Outside

Quezon City.  The waste and pollution watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition welcomed the noticeable decrease in littering inside voting centers, but lamented the unchecked littering outside.

Based on the monitoring conducted last Monday, the group’s Basura Patrollers heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing the inside of schools used as polling places as “generally litter-free.”

“For sure, there were bits and pieces of trash in the school premises.  But it was unlike past elections when littering was more evident as if litterbugs were having a party,” said Cris Luague, Zero Waste Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.

Among the factors identified that have contributed to reduced littering in most voting centers were:  1) the active campaign of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) towards an eco-friendly electoral exercise; 2) the prohibition on campaigning on May 11 and 12, including the ban on the distribution of sample ballots; 3) the availability of trash bags or bins in high traffic spots; 4) the constant sweeping by school janitors and the deployment of waste and sanitation workers by local government units; and 5) the retrieval of discards such as plastic bottles by informal waste workers.

However, the EcoWaste Coalition observed that areas surrounding some schools were often found littered with campaign materials such as sample ballots, leaflets, hand fans and tarpaulins, as well as single-use beverage and food plastic packaging left on sidewalks and street corners.

Outside Rosauro Almario Elementary School, for instance, sample ballots were found scattered on the ground for personnel of Manila’s Department of Public Services to pick up. People literally walked on discarded sample ballots before government personnel uncomplainingly swept the area clean with their broomsticks.

The group’s observations were based on field reports and photos provided by its Basura Patrollers who visited some 40 schools in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Navotas, and Quezon Cities in Metro Manila, as well as in Orani, Bataan; Batangas City, Batangas; Marilao, Bulacan; Calamba City, Laguna; San Antonio, Nueva Ecija; San Mateo, Rizal; and Koronadal City, South Cotabato.

Included in the schools monitored are eight of the country’s top 20 voting centers such as the Bagong Silang Elementary School in Caloocan City, Dr, Alejandro Albert Elementary School, Rosauro Almario Elementary School, Epifanio de los Santos Elementary School, Fernando Ma. Guerrero Elementary School and T. Paez Integrated School in Manila City, and Bagong Silangan Elementary School and Commonwealth Elementary School in Quezon City.

Yesterday, the EcoWaste Coalition appealed to all candidates to take the lead in post-election clean-ups and demonstrate true leadership by taking responsibility for the waste they generated during the campaign period.

“We call on all political parties, party-list groups and candidates to take full responsibility for the environmental impact of their campaigns by ensuring the proper retrieval, clean-up and management of their campaign materials,” reiterated Luague.

To realize a truly “basura-free” electoral exercise —  inside and outside the voting centers and throughout the election season – the EcoWaste Coalition drew up some action points for the COMELEC and concerned stakeholders to consider.

“The following action points are essential to achieve the envisaged ‘basura-free’ polls in the future such as the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in December 2025 and the national and local elections in 2028,” the EcoWaste Coalition said.

1.  Ensure the strict implementation of Republic Act No. 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, prohibiting littering and requiring the mandatory segregation of discards at source, among other requirements, by incorporating waste prevention and reduction measures into electoral guidelines, including requiring candidates to prepare and put into action an ecological solid waste management plan for their campaign.  The strict enforcement of RA 9003 must be supported with accountability mechanisms to penalize violators.

2. Strengthen the enforcement of COMELEC Resolution No. 11111 on the use of environmentally sustainable election propaganda, particularly the prohibition on posters and other campaign materials that are not “environmentally acceptable.” As defined in RA 9003, “environmentally acceptable shall refer to the quality of being reusable, biodegradable or compostable, recyclable, and not toxic or hazardous to the environment.”

   3.  Reinforce the responsibility of all candidates to utilize environmentally acceptable campaign materials, and to hold them accountable for the environmental impact of their chosen materials, including their retrieval and management, through an extended candidate responsibility policy.

   4.  Ensure compliance by all candidates and parties to the mandatory conduct of post-election clean-up drive, and to require them to conduct activities like tree planting for the purpose of carbon offsetting.

   5.  Ensure the efficient implementation of Republic Act No. 7904 requiring COMELEC to furnish every registered voter with an unfilled official sample ballot, voter information sheet and a list of candidates at least 30 days before an election, to halt the illegal and wasteful practice of distributing unofficial sample ballots that end up being littered on election day.

   6.  Back the promulgation of a law phasing out single-use plastics and support reuse and refill systems to curb packaging waste not only during elections, but in the people’s everyday life.

   “Finally, while we thank our media friends for the help in covering our election awareness campaigns, we invite media institutions and local communities to continuously participate and help in building awareness about electoral waste, and make environmental responsibility a core value in our democratic processes,” the EcoWaste Coalition concluded.