Visual arts and garbage segregation

February 18, 2017 Educator's Corner Opinion

In our school, ways were made to address proper waste segregation. A memo crafted by the principal was issued stating that garbage disposal areas in every classroom must have three bins for papers, plastic bottles, and residuals. In support to this wonderful advocacy YES-O volunteered to buy papers and bottles to encourage students to be responsible in disposing their garbage. A teacher of the said school also prepared a checklist for class mayors for every classroom to make sure teachers are all consistent in monitoring cleanliness and garbage segregation.
These actions were done because we as members of an institution want to contribute to the betterment of Mother Nature.
Asian Development Bank (2007) stated, “As we become wealthier and consume more, we are producing unprecedented quantities of rubbish”. The movie Wall E is a testament to this when it pictured the earth as a chaotic place filled with garbage. Because of this, man has to create a big spaceship in order to survive. It was also clearly portrayed that humans are wearing oxygen masks just to breathe fresh air. The said movie was not a mere imagination created by skilled story tellers it can also be a prophetic scenario in the near future if people will not learn to take good care of Mother Nature.
We Filipinos are known to put high regards to our personal hygiene. We want to maintain our bodies clean by taking a bath daily. In contrast, it is saddening to see that our streets, sidewalks and other public places are messy and are not maintained.
The Philippine government now under the leadership of President Duterte has an ambitious plan of making the country the cleanest in Asia but it will never come to fruition if we as a nation will not cooperate and support the administration. One of the simplest way to care for nature is through proper waste disposal. For this to be effective, the practice of segregating waste should be maintained through discipline. Imparting this value to the youth and to every member of the community is a joint effort of families, schools and other institutions. A lot has given up when speaking about proper waste segregation but those who love life still hasn’t.
In my love to Mother Nature, I also conducted an action research with my particular students about the Effect of Visual Arts in Proper Garbage Disposal and Segregation. Based on the narratives of my respondents, visual art has a positive effect in motivating them to be more responsible in disposing their garbage. I came up with this idea when my son named Yohan Trevor attended the Art class at the University of the Philippines. During the exhibit which is the last day, artworks were presented. I was amazed when I saw the garbage bins which were artistically decorated. The designs were based on famous products such Starbucks, Coca cola and the last is ice cream. The said bins’ tags were relabeled to paper, plastic, and bottles (maybe to avoid penalty or complaints from copyright owners).
Even in simple acts, we can prove that it is not too late doing the right thing. Yaacob Ibrahim of Singapore stated that everyone can do their part. It is not difficult to put recyclable items into plastic bags or to put them in recycling bins near our homes. What appear as a small inconvenience initially is nothing compared to the benefits that will accrue to our environment and livelihood in the long run.
Let’s all be motivated to be artistic in proper garbage. We can all do it. ANDRE PAOLO C. GALONG, Pines City National High School, Baguio City