Cebu Archbishop posts appeal for responsible garbage management

Cebu Archbishop Alberto "Abet" Uy has called on the faithful on Monday to help care for the environment and encouraged parishes, schools, religious communities, and organizations to practise responsible waste management.

"I humbly ask every Cebuano Catholic: Do not wait for the government to solve this problem for you. Be part of the solution," the archbishop said in a statement.

"Because the cleaner Cebu we desire will not come from machines. It will come from changed hearts and changed habits," he added.

Archbishop Uy said that he supports the initiatives of our City Government in addressing the "serious problem of garbage management in Cebu."

"But I would also like to say something very important, something very simple, and something very true: The real solution to the garbage problem is not in machines. It is in changing habits," he added.

He underscored that the daily practise of proper waste segregation weighs more than technology, equipment, landfill, and amount of budget allocated for proper garbage disposal.

"Because garbage is not first a city problem. Garbage is a lifestyle problem," the prelate said.

"Most of the waste we see on the streets did not begin there. It began inside homes. It began when we did not segregate.It began when we used plastic without thinking. It began when we threw something away carelessly, believing it would simply “disappear.”"

He said with improper disposal, garbage ends up in rivers, to seas, to dumpsites, and eventually back to the people.

"As Christians, we believe that creation is a gift from God entrusted to us. We are not owners of this earth. We are stewards. To throw garbage irresponsibly is not only bad citizenship. It is poor stewardship. It is forgetting that God entrusted this beautiful island of Cebu to our care.

Caring for the environment is not optional for Christians. It is part of our faith.

Archbishop Uy proposes a list of habits that would help solve the city's garbage disposal issues:

• Segregate waste at home
• Reduce single-use plastics
• Reuse what can still be used
• Compost biodegradable waste
• Teach children to be disciplined with trash

"These are small acts. But when done by thousands of families every day, they become powerful," he said.

Parishes, schools, religious communities, and organizations were called to lead by example:

• Practice proper waste segregation
• Avoid plastic in parish events
• Teach environmental responsibility in catechism and classrooms
• Show that faith and care for creation go together

"Let our churches be models of discipline and responsibility," said Archbishop Uy.

"May our love for God be seen in the way we care for His creation. May our faith be seen in the discipline of our daily actions. And may future generations inherit a Cebu that is cleaner, healthier, and more beautiful than the one we have today." — BAP, GMA Integrated News