EcoWaste Coalition: Eleksyon 2025 polling precincts 'generally litter-free'

Zero-waste advocates EcoWaste Coalition reported that polling precincts in Eleksyon 2025 were “generally litter-free.”

The group attributed this to the Commission on Elections' (COMELEC) campaign for eco-friendly polls, provision of trash bags or bins in high-traffic areas, and constant sweeping in polling areas.

“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 Zero-Waste Campaigner Cris Lague said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, the group lamented the presence of litter in the form of campaign materials and single-use food packaging in sidewalks and street corners near voting centers.

EcoWaste Coalition said they have conducted monitoring in over 40 schools in Caloocan, Las Piñas, Makati, Malabon, Manila, Navotas, Quezon City, Orani in Bataan, Batangas City, Marilao in Bulacan, Calamba City in Laguna, San Antonio in Nueva Ecija; San Mateo in Rizal, and Koronadal City in South Cotabato.

The group reiterated their earlier call for candidates, win or lose, to take part in post-election clean-up operations nationwide to realize a truly “basura-free” election.

“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,” Lague said. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VAL, GMA Integrated News

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