Following the series of activities from holidays to festivities, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 again reminded and encouraged the public to be environmentally mindful, especially this National Zero Waste Month.
January as mandated by the Presidential Proclamation No. 760, dated May 2014, was proclaimed as the Zero Waste Month.
In 2024, with the theme “Sustainable Waste Management in Livable Communities: Zero Waste Philippine Waters by 2040,” DENR focuses on the campaign of a plastic and waste-free environment to eliminate and avoid huge amounts of toxicity not just for water resources but to include the air and land.
“This month of January is a busy month to most Ilonggos because of the simultaneous festivals in the region, and the DENR keeps on reminding the general public to be more cautious in terms of their everyday purchase that may end up in our landfill,” said DENR 6 Regional Executive Director Livino B. Duran said.
“Let this Zero Waste Month and the first month of the year be a reminder, that all of us are part of the solution, if you want a livable community, manage your waste properly. After all we have a whole year to reflect in our action,” Duran said.
Zero Waste Month is an advocacy that promotes the designing and managing of products and the processes to avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste, and materials. It is also defined as a goal that is ethical, economical, efficient and visionary to guide people in having a resourceful lifestyle, in which discarded materials can be re-designed as resources for others to use. Zero-Waste Month is also pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management (ESWM) 2000. (DENR-6)
