Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Jr. said the government should create a safe recycling program that would reduce exposure of waste pickers to harmful chemicals in dump sites.
"We owe it to the informal waste sector to create and support conditions for recycling that will not put their health and that of their families and communities in danger," he pointed out.
Iñiguez, who also heads the Public Affairs Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said that “the waste pickers belong to the poorest of the poor who work in the most difficult and toxic condition to make ends meet.”
Poor families who live near dump site areas make their living by picking discards and other recyclable materials. The nature of their work exposes them to hazardous chemicals and substances that can cause illness and death.
“In appreciation of their role in the recycling chain, let us do whatever is necessary to make their work more humane and less injurious to their health,” Iñiguez said.
The Bishop made the appeal during a workshop on chemical safety held last August 3 by environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition under its Project PROTECT, (People Responding and Organizing against Toxic Chemical Threats).
The workshop, first in a series on chemical safety, aimed “to raise public awareness and action on harmful substances that can endanger human as well as community health and safety.”
Aside from Bishop Iñiguez, other participants to the workshop include waste pickers’ group based in Pier 18 and Smokey Mountain in Tondo and representatives of the Manila Health Department, National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) and various civil society organizations.
"We owe it to the informal waste sector to create and support conditions for recycling that will not put their health and that of their families and communities in danger," he pointed out.
Iñiguez, who also heads the Public Affairs Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said that “the waste pickers belong to the poorest of the poor who work in the most difficult and toxic condition to make ends meet.”
Poor families who live near dump site areas make their living by picking discards and other recyclable materials. The nature of their work exposes them to hazardous chemicals and substances that can cause illness and death.
“In appreciation of their role in the recycling chain, let us do whatever is necessary to make their work more humane and less injurious to their health,” Iñiguez said.
The Bishop made the appeal during a workshop on chemical safety held last August 3 by environmental watchdog EcoWaste Coalition under its Project PROTECT, (People Responding and Organizing against Toxic Chemical Threats).
The workshop, first in a series on chemical safety, aimed “to raise public awareness and action on harmful substances that can endanger human as well as community health and safety.”
Aside from Bishop Iñiguez, other participants to the workshop include waste pickers’ group based in Pier 18 and Smokey Mountain in Tondo and representatives of the Manila Health Department, National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) and various civil society organizations.
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