An environment watchdog has appealed to devotees of the Black Nazarene to go green and avoid repeating what happened in last year’s feast in Quiapo, which turned the church premises into a dump.

The EcoWaste Coalition told reporters in a statement that the faithful belonging to “Hijos del Señor Nazareno” (Sons of the Lord Nazarene) are being urged to show leadership by not allowing the mammoth procession to leave piles of trash along the way.

“The unrestrained littering during the Quiapo fiesta is a disgrace to our age-old devoutness to Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno to whom many of us come begging for relief and freedom from all troubles, including life-threatening diseases that could have resulted from a polluted environment,” said Manny Calonzo, coalition president.

“While deeply touched by the timeless devotion of Catholic Filipinos to the Black Nazarene, we cannot help but notice how the well-being of our fragile environment is often ignored by many devotees as they fervently fulfill their rituals and vows.”

Manila Police Chief Roberto Rosales said the festivity next week would test the district’s closed-circuit television system in keeping the procession orderly.

But he said organizers have set aside two days including an overnight stay of the image at the Quirino grandstand meaning “the Black Nazarene

will be on vigil Jan. 8.”

Last year’s festivities, Calonzo noted, lead to streets strewn with tons of plastic bags, drinking straws, plastic bottles, Styrofoam containers, food wrappers, bamboo skewers and cigarette butts.

What made the situation worse, the group said, was the large number of single-use plastic buntings and “happy fiesta” banners, which added to the trash.

“With the 2010 polls just around the corner, more politicians are likely to make their presence felt in the coming fiesta by adding their lot to the unsightly banner extravaganza,” the coalition statement said.

The advocates have forwarded photos of last year’s procession to Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo.

To minimize trash next week, the group endorsed four steps outlined by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin when he exhorted the faithful to make the 2003 World Meeting of Families in Luneta a “zero waste celebration of life.”

The prelate asked devotees to minimize the creation of waste by using as few resources as possible at the various events; avoid using plastic and disposable items; separate discards into biodegradable and non-biodegradable; and put them into their proper containers to facilitate recycling and make simpler the work of cleaners and collectors.

A green fiesta, according to the group, fits well with the bishops’ plea for “every citizen to eliminate wasteful consumption” as written in their recent pastoral letter “Upholding the Sanctity of Life.” Arlie Calalo and Jing Villamente