Trash, Trash, Trash

It’s not every time that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Sometimes trash is just trash that needs to be disposed, ideally, properly but this will only happen if and when the right options are there. At the very least, there should be regular garbage collection or a nearby recycling facility. So what if none of these are present. How does one dispose trash?

Proper trash disposal continues to be one of the main concerns where we are at right now. We are close to our second month in our new address but so far we only had a visit from the local government’s garbage collector and that was only after we agreed to pay them. The last time we saw the little garbage truck was more than a month ago.  We live in a compound with my in-laws and I learned from them that the garbage truck only picks up the trash of gated subdivisions located nearby while residences situated along the way are left on their own. The good news is that I haven’t seen any trash bag on the road sides but I haven’t checked the nearby creek just because I don’t want to. I just know what to expect.

So there was no big surprise when I saw this video on Facebook of a man carelessly throwing garbage bags from a bridge—on broad daylight. It was the sight I hate to see but it was a reaffirmation of what could be happening in most places where people are deprived of proper and regular garbage collection. From what I have heard some families do pay a mangangalakal (individuals who collect recyclable materials) to dispose their trash which usually ends up somewhere but the garbage landfill.

Image from Facebook.

I am very particular about how I dispose trash. I make it a habit to sort recyclables and non-recyclables. Back in our old residence, our garbage footprint had been the lowest relative to our neighbors of the same family size. In fact, there would be  times when the garbage truck would miss to pick up ours and they would return the next week with the trash bin still not overflowing. Sadly, we cannot and do not have the same control anymore.

As much as I hate to I have resorted to another approach. It’s the lesser evil than throwing garbage into the creek but an evil nevertheless. Our son Marcus has asthma condition and very prone to getting sick once exposed to smoke and other airborne irritants so burning trash was never an option but we really have no choice. I already fabricated an incinerator barrel and we have been using it for weeks already. It was effective though I know that this isn’t right and shouldn’t stay long term. I am planning to talk to an officer of the local government to help us but I have been indirectly advised that for now this could be a futile attempt. Politics, I get it but there is hope. I heard that the incoming administration has solid waste management as one of its top priorities. I am crossing my fingers that this will materialize but until then our garbage dilemma remains.

***

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Marcus is still sleeping. He’s getting better after one week.)

Got Lego from Shell This Year?

Christmas 2015 is different for those who have been fans of Lego toys from Shell gas stations. Yes, that is because Lego broke its ties last year with the giant Shell Corp. after constant pressure from groups especially Greenpeace International against its Artic drilling activities. It was a big victory for the environment but at the same time a sad loss for us parents who get our chance to buy cheaper genuine Lego toys after filling up.

Legos block Shell’s Arctic drilling. (Image from The Guardian)

It’s not entirely true though for our son.

Well, naughty or nice, Marcus got one this December from Santa Claus. It’s from the Santa Claus who bought the stuffs last year and waited for the right moment when he runs out of idea on what to give next. And it happened.

Yesterday, Santa skipped our home, or didn’t get the opportunity to sneak his way to Marcus’ red sock, so this morning he makes up for it with an F12 Berlinetta.

A Lambo from Petron, a Ferrari from Shell.

I don’t know if Santa still has more left but I heard Mrs. Claus said there’s one more. Let’s see what Marcus gets in the next days.

***

There is good news. Shell Corp. eventually pulled out its Arctic drilling activities after realizing there is no long term potential in the area or probably after encountering radical Santa’s elves who got annoyed by the noise and threatened a lifetime of zero gifts for the sons and daughters of all Shell employees. Now we wonder if we will soon see the return of Lego-Shell partnership. Make the answer ‘yes’ please.

Happening again in 2016?

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (The building game begins tomorrow. This isn’t Minecraft this time but it could like a villager’s house.)

Driving Conditions We Have Come To Accept?

Image by Marcus’ dad.

Every day as I drive home I realize that there are conditions that we must have already accepted as the norm. At some point in the past these got so much attention most in the form of promises and grandstanding of politicians, and rants from the general public and the media. But as time passes focus on these issues have gone cold.

For example, dark streets. For more than three years I have been driving through the same dark inner roads and highways. On these roads I have witnessed countless accidents that could have been avoided had these places been well-lit. It bothers me to think that lives and limbs would be wasted soon unless the concerned government agencies start getting their acts together. There are already cheap solar street lighting so it makes me wonder what keeps our officials from installing them.

Then there are also the potholes. Years ago, each time I hear an exposé about substandard road projects I hoped and believed that change will start to happen soon–that roads will stay paved for long. But it was being naive because change was temporary. What appeared to be worthy projects have once again ended in the hands of corrupt contractors. Our roads are back to its sorry state.

Then we have the existence of smoke belchers. These vehicles, usually trucks and jeepneys, continue to pollute and to make driving a lot more difficult. Just imagine the challenge I experience almost daily as I make my way through pitch-black, zigzagged, and potholed road while following a slow-moving truck spewing a screen of thick black smoke. Oh, before I forget, this part of my trip is uphill. Whatever happened to the clean air act?

I don’t know when another campaign to eradicate these problems will kick in once more. Maybe soon but maybe not. Or, maybe when these hazardous road conditions claim the life of someone famous. Until then it looks like these are just things that we must accept and live with.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (My body clock is American, time zone is Asian.)

Love Earth, Wear Dirty Jeans

What I don’t do for my jeans saves the planet. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then it is time for you to read Mashable’s article about CEO of Levi’s earth-friendly advice–do not wash your jeans. Yes, you got that right. Do not wash your jeans!

This is the second time I have read an article that encourages what I have been doing all along. Few weeks back, Yahoo! also featured tips on how to extend the life of fabric simply by washing it less often than most of us are used to. In that same article, it mentions freezing the clothing to kill germs rather than the usual laundry. I nearly tried it the last time had I found a ziplock bag where my jeans would fit as except for an almost untouched pint of ice cream, a partially filled ice cube tray, and a small bag of hotdogs, our freezer could accommodate such experiment–yup, it’s that empty.

Now that a CEO has spoken about this earth-friendly idea once more, regardless if it some sort of hype for a material and process that require less water to manufacture a pair of Levi’s jeans, my excitement to get my pants dirty for the love of the environment is becoming stronger. I am no stranger to this, in fact there was once a time when I have kept my Levi’s–I can afford one back in ’96–unwashed and continued to wear it to work for more than a month. (I now recall that it was also when Shaggy’s Boombastic became the catchy commercial jingle of Levi’s.)

Today, while I cannot accomplish same duration of an unwashed jeans, I still make it a point to wear my pants more than once. There’s just this feeling of guilt whenever I throw a pair of pants to the laundry bin worn only for a day. Maybe because I am aware of the decreasing water levels in our dams or just maybe because I would avoid laundry if I can help it. Whatever the reasons are, I now feel that wearing dirty jeans is one of my many contributions to save mother earth.

***

Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Will skip gym just to write this post.)

Henry Hates Joyce

I think I shall never see

A sad poem about a parking lot made by Mr. Sy.

A parking lot whose chilly basement is pressed

Against Baguio’s once abundant pine tree crest.

A parking lot that looks at the mall all day;

And waits for cars of shoppers who pay.

A parking lot that covers people in Summer wear;

A nest of evicted bird species in its lair.

Upon its concrete levels Baguio’s cold has lain;

Insensitive of the dead forest’s pain.

Poems are made by fools like me

But only greedy men can uproot hundreds of pine tree.

***

Credit: Poem derived from ‘Trees’ by Joyce Kilmer.

Photo derived from http://www.freephotosbank.com

***

Mood: 1/10 Honks! (Monday and WE are home.)

Knock, knock!

Contrary to my goal, again, I’m failing in my goal to fill my need to write more posts and Marcus has a lot to do with it. For wifey and me, parenting lately has been a lot crazier than before. Don’t get me wrong, despite nerve-wracking moments with an active 3-year old we seem to spend more enjoyable times as we witness his rapid development and antics that come along with it. Nowadays, our one and only boy….

…has become more articulate than ever. Other than saying our names clearer, he can now say Manny Pacquiao.

…can recognize Toyotas and Pajeros and other car brands. He can just spot Hondas before. (When he was more than a year old, he screams whenever he sees wheels.)

…has transitioned from nursery rhymes to more mature music. He used to just like GTO from the movie RV and lately he surprised me when he showed to me that he can dance to Top Gun’s Danger Zone and Mighty Wings. He also goes ballistic when he hears Party Anthem and Moves Like Jagger.

…continues to impress us with his pace in learning to use cellphones, computers and home theater. (Thankfully, he has not figured out why his favorite cartoon show doesn’t appear however he press the TV’s channel button. Yes, I locked it.)

…seems to start understanding that littering trash will result to flood and that whenever he sees some of the Sendong video footage, he’ll look for his clothes and tell us to donate them. (This one makes us feel so proud.)

Well, this is just a knock knock and I have to cut this short because sooner or later, he’ll be up and ready again to keep our day busy…and stressful…and fun. Parenting is exciting, isn’t it?

***

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Thankful to be home.)

There is Beauty in Trash Talk

The recent typhoon Mina (international name Nanmadol) has exposed once again the ever stinky truth our country has to face—waste management. In Baguio, several people, including innocent children, perished when heap of trash buried them after heavy rainfall triggered a landslide.

Sadly, this isn’t the first incident here in the Philippines wherein piles of garbage has caused death or injury. Several years ago the infamous Payatas tragedy took the lives of more than 200 people living near this open dumpsite. It was a wakeup call for those who survived and it sent an alarm to the government officials who acted, however late, to address this problem. Since then open dumpsites were outlawed. Or so we thought.

Now that this unfortunate news is all over the headlines, people begin to ask the same old questions. Who should be blamed for all these? The ordinary Juan De La Cruzes who on their way home would toss their fast food packaging anywhere they feel like it? The government officials who fail to implement the law? Or should this be again considered as an act of God—a reason that has been so overused by people who would try to cover their own insensitivities, carelessness or incompetence.

But while we try to find answers, for the nth time, to these seemingly hopeless questions, it is nice to know that there are still others whose minds are open and who still continue to seek solutions. For example, there is the beautiful and famous Anne Curtis Smith who openly declared on twitter (@annecurtissmith) her intent to use her popularity in an attempt to revive or improve the waste management awareness campaign. How far it will go, I don’t know but with her appeal and capability to influence others, I would like to believe that her advocacy will improve the way most of us take care of our environment. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because I really wouldn’t want to see this happen again.

For now, indulge me. I can’t let this moment pass without letting the world know that I had a short discussion with this lovely actress.

Seconds of fame brought by mere mention of my name by Anne Curtis Smith.

***

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (Happy kind of sleepy.)

A hypocrite will save the environment…

A couple of weeks ago, I had an interesting exchange of argument coming from one of those who commented my Facebook note (linked from my blog site). My then FB friend digress from the main topic, Dead but not gone which is about Cory Aquino, and the discussion went from good to bad. It ended with me being implied as a hypocrite. Ouch.

It started when I said that I’m just hoping that confettis won’t be used during the funeral as consequently this symbol of honor, respect and even sympathy will end up as garbage on the streets and finally, will clog our already restricted, if not full, drainage system. Sadly, my concern about its effect to the environment was fully misinterpreted. If it was out of ignorance or just the then overflowing emotion about the late ex-president’s death, I don’t know.

Being called a hypocrite is unpleasant no doubt, but that discussion hit me like a loud wake up call. True, I do things that contribute to the environmental problem – drive a petrol-powered car, buy and consume non-organic food, wear synthetic clothing, uses cleaning solvents that may contain hazardous chemicals that contaminate our waters, etcetera. But do I have a choice? Like many others, the answer is most likely no. But can I do something about it? The answer is a big YES.

I'm likewise bringing my mug to school (whenever possible) - save on Starbucks, save the planet.

Right now I swear to step up from what I’ve been doing already – garbage segregation even if I’m quite sure the garbage collectors pile them up the truck among other wastes; making sure that our car is in tip-top condition; minimize the use of electricity; conserve water; and other things according to the 3 R’s – Reduce, Re-use and Recycle.

 

Fix that leak with Fluidmaster's fill valve replacement kit. Photo: http://www.fluidmaster.com

To walk the talk I started it last saturday when I brought along a sandwich to school without the plastic wrapper and foil, and instead placed it inside a Tupperware container which is reusable. And just today, I fixed a defective toilet fill valve even if it means I’d be spending out of budget, and to mention being sweaty and dirty during the whole installation (although it took me just 10 minutes to do it). So there goes. I’ve somehow gained something out of that FB argument and will try to see what more I can to do to save the environment…and avoid once again being tagged as a hypocrite. Ti abi.

 

 

Mood: 3/10 Honks! (talked to 3 YM contacts…)

Earth Day request from Greenpeace

“The optimism of action is better than the pessimism of the thought.” – Greenpeace activist

 

I admit I did not realize that today is Earth Day. I’ve been occupied with travelling from one place to another – I wish it was abroad – that I only learned about Earth Day just this morning over the radio on my way to work. I also don’t know if since when we have been celebrating Earth Day. I totally have no idea.

Anyway, as one self-declared environmentalist, this one email coming from Greenpeace.org prompt me to comply with their call to action.

Here’s an excerpt from this said email:

…Here at Greenpeace, we’re pushers of a controlled substance. It’s called hope…

…When we take action against environmental crimes, we also take action against despair. And there are times when inspiring other people to take action are by far the most powerful outcome that we could hope for…

…If you agree, we want you, and 2,999,999 people like you to sign up as climate activists. Together let’s act and protect our future…

The most important meeting of the century

When the UN Climate summit convenes in Copenhagen this December, delegates there will be deciding the fate of the Earth. It’s looking more and more likely they will bring us a lot of hot air, not a cooler planet.

YOU need to tell them that’s not good enough.

YOU need to raise the bar on the world’s expectations.

It’s time to get involved. It’s time to get your friends involved. It’s time to get your parents or your kids involved.

Our first mission is to get the message out that we want our leaders to take personal responsibility for stopping climate change.

The first step to ensuring that the climate summit makes real decision is to make sure that real decision makers are there.

This Earth Day, please join us in this conspiracy of hope called Greenpeace, and inspire others to action…

Chuck Baclagon
New Media Campaigner
Greenpeace Southeast Asia

 

Also included in this email is Greenpeace.org’s request for everyone to participate in the following actions:

1. Demand key leaders go to the climate summit by signing the petition.
2. Post the “Inspiring Action” video to our blogs, Facebook and other social networking sites.
3. Donate.
   

Lastly, here’s the “Inspiring Action” video. Please spread.

 

Mood: 2/10 Honks!

Jogging in Bacolod

 

I have come to realize that I haven’t seen or lived at any place that seems better than Bacolod when it comes to jogging or biking. Let me prove that.

 

During my first years in Manila, I lived somewhere in Alabang. The village where I stayed has only four main roads. One will find jogging a bore a few minutes after he’s started. If he decides to go out, he’ll have to take a chance with crazy jeepney drivers along the service roads.

 

Taguig. This one isn’t any better than the first. The place is crowded and hilly; and the roads are quite narrow and competing with the zooming tricycles isn’t really a good idea. If one is persistent enough, he can jog around FTI but would have to deal with weird looks coming from workers of the nearby factories who will likely wonder if he’s some expat who just loves running inside the industrial zone.

 

Cavite and Batangas. Although these places are known for its wonderful resorts and beaches, the places I’ve been to aren’t jogger-friendly – unless a 5 km (or less) run is good enough for you. To break a sweat, the only way where one can jog or bike carefree here, and in the other places that I have mentioned, is either you run using the treadmill inside a gym or you live inside an exclusive village where there’s normally wide road and safe areas to take a healthy jog. Obviously, either one of the two options isn’t free. But not in Bacolod.

There are several reasons why Bacolod is such a conducive place.

1. The place is relatively flat. In fact within the city proper, there are only few areas that would render a weekend jogger breathless; imagine how easier and enjoyable is it for regular bikers (sadly, BMX sighting has decreased significantly, or they must have gone underground).

2. Traffic is fairly light compared to Metro Manila, even Cavite;

3. and despite that, most vehicles are traveling at a safe pace. Though adrenalin-pumped rich kids and crazy jeepney drivers are always around – you just can’t escape them.

4. Forget Starbucks or CBTL, but small coffee shops seem to be available everywhere you go.

5. Bacold City’s lagoon area is still a good place to jog (we used to bike inside the area until the late ’90s but it was later prohibited) whether it’s early morning or late in the afternoon.

 

I’m not being biased but, the truth is, Bacolod is where all you need to have a good jog is a pair of running shoes, a shirt, and a short. Putting these on and waking up early though is mandatory. Hahaha.

 

***

 

However, here’s a caveat: I can’t help but notice the alarming number of places where people are burning garbage. Coming from our subdivision and until near the lagoon area, it seems that every kilometer or so, people are trying to personally incinerate their trashes. And this is very very bad especially for those who loves jogging around.

At first I thought that it was only confined to a few places where garbage collection isn’t regular that people had to burn it to avoid piling and accumulation – at least that’s what my nanay said and do so even until now. So does this mean that garbage collection around the city is also as irregular as the rest of the residential areas? If this is the case, the city mayor has to do something aggressive about it unless he has plans to make Bacolod “a city of smile and smog”. Hopefully not.

 

***

Well, this morning, after another long jog going east – to Sta. Fe, I decided to pay one of my best friends a visit. And how delighted I was when I saw this posted on their gate:

 

He also gave me several other fliers which I brought home along with me.

At least, I now know that an information campaign is being done by the good mayor – Bing Leonardia, and I hope that with this effort (and with the cooperation of his constituents) Bacolod will once again be awarded as one of the “Greenest City” like it was so many years ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honk: 3/10 Honks!