The “Limpyo (clean) Eleksyon” of the provincial government of Iloilo has collected over 10 tons of various election materials as the cleanup campaign came to a close on Friday, May 20.

“As of today we have a total of 10.6 tons of garbage materials, which include bamboo poles, wires, nails, tarpaulins and plastic posters, based on data that we gathered from different municipalities,” said Iloilo Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) Senior Environmental Management Specialist Mitzi Peñaflorida in an interview.

Peñaflorida, however, said the cleanup would continue even if Executive Order 265 issued by Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. only mandated a 10-day “Limpyo Eleksyon” campaign or from May 10 to May 20, 2022.

“We cannot collect 100 percent all the campaign materials. We can see that local government units down to barangays have regular cleanup activities. So we emphasized for them to include in their cleanup activity the tarpaulins and posters,” she said.

Of the 10.6 tons, around 2.5 tons are tarpaulins, almost two tons are plastic posters and the rest are plywood, bamboo poles, sticks, wires, nails, binders, and hardwood, among others.

Peñaflorida said the tarpaulins and plastic posters are still to be sorted to separate those that can still be recycled and be made into eco-bags, pouches, and other useful things.

The rest can still be used by the municipalities where the campaign materials were removed.

The collected election materials are currently in the material recovery facility of various local government units in the province for sorting.

She also encouraged candidates to help with the campaign because it is being done for the environment, and also in time for the celebration of the Month of the Ocean this May.

The environmental management specialist added that if left uncollected, the campaign materials would become brittle and might find their way into the ocean causing damage to marine animals.

On May 23, PENRO will gather various groups and organizations into upcycling to discuss the parameters in coming up with eco-bags, distribution of the finished products, and assistance for the recycling of the collected materials.PNA