WITH the Zero Waste Month celebration, the City Government of Davao and some environmental advocates reminded the public that zero waste lifestyle starts in oneself.

Committee on environment Councilor Diosdado Mahipus, in a phone interview with SunStar Davao Saturday, January 12, said that his committee is campaigning for responsible waste disposal.

“We have to be responsible for our own waste because it's our health that is at stake here,” he said.

“Let's go back to the basics by using biodegradable materials for our daily needs. Stop using plastics for food. It's so unhealthy and destroys our ecosystem,” he added.

The committee on environment is currently drafting the single-use plastic ban ordinance in the city, however, studies are still ongoing.

“We are campaigning for people in the community to recycle materials and avoid undue disposal of waste such as plastics paspers and bottles to the environment,” he said.

He added, “Stop polluting the surroundings and observe proper segregation of biodegradable materials which can be utilized as fertilizers.”

Meanwhile, Interface Development Interventions advocacy specialist attorney Mark Peñalver, during the Connect media forum on Friday, said that it is the lifestyle of the people that could help preserve the environment.

“Ang zero waste lifestyle needs a concscious effort from each and every one of us. If you want to be a zero waste practitioner, you start from yourself,” he said. (LHC)