Responding to today’s environmental challenges, Cebu Archbishop Alberto “Abet” Uy highlights concrete and practical ways to care for our common home.
1. LET’S BRING OUR OWN TUMBLER
Bringing our own tumbler may look like a very small habit, but it carries a very big meaning.
Every time we accept a disposable plastic bottle or cup, we create waste that will remain in the environment far longer than the few minutes we use it. These plastics do not simply disappear. They end up in canals, rivers, seas, and landfills. They contribute to flooding, pollution, and harm to marine life. Eventually, they even return to us through the food we eat and the water we drink.
But when we bring our own tumbler, we quietly refuse to add to that problem.
This simple act becomes more than a practical choice. It becomes a spiritual gesture — a small, daily way of caring for the world God has entrusted to us.
It says:
“I will not take creation for granted.”
“I will not add to the waste if I can avoid it.”
“I choose responsibility over convenience.”
Care for creation is not only done through big environmental programs. It is lived in small, consistent personal decisions.
Let us bring our own tumbler.
Because this is not just about water.
It is about love for creation, respect for the earth, and gratitude to God for the gift of this world.
2. SAY NO TO PLASTIC SACHETS
Sachets are cheap for us, but very expensive for the earth.
What is cheap at the store becomes very costly after we throw it away.
Sachets are made of multi-layer plastic that is almost impossible to recycle. After a few minutes of use, they become waste that can remain in the soil and water for hundreds of years, clog canals and contribute to flooding, and break down into tiny particles that end up in rivers, fish, and even our food.
We save a few pesos in buying small packs. But creation pays the price for centuries.
So if we are blessed enough to afford buying in larger quantities, let us choose not to buy in sachets.
This is not only an environmental decision. It is a spiritual one.
A quiet way of saying: “I care for the world God has entrusted to us.”
3. REJECT THE THROWAWAY CULTURE
A throwaway culture is a way of living where things, food, resources—even people—are treated as disposable. When something is no longer useful, convenient, or attractive, we simply throw it away and replace it.
Pope Francis speaks strongly about this in Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum. He reminds us that this mentality is not only an environmental problem. It is a spiritual and moral problem.
Here’s why we must avoid it:
1. It destroys our care for creation
When we throw away too easily, we waste food, water, materials, energy. Landfills grow. Oceans fill with plastic. Forests disappear.
Creation is God’s gift. To waste it carelessly is to forget that we are stewards, not owners.
A throwaway culture slowly turns gratitude into abuse.
2. It forms a careless heart
If we get used to throwing away things, we can start throwing away people too.
• The elderly when they are no longer productive
• The poor when they are inconvenient
• The unborn when they are unwanted
• Relationships when they become difficult
The habit of discarding objects trains the heart to discard persons.
3. It weakens our sense of responsibility
Throwing away is easy. Repairing, reusing, caring, and preserving require patience and effort.
A throwaway culture promotes convenience over responsibility.
But Christian life is not built on convenience. It is built on love, care, and stewardship.
4. It contradicts the Gospel spirit of simplicity
Jesus lived simply. He valued what was little. He multiplied loaves instead of wasting them. He taught gratitude for daily bread.
Simplicity teaches us to value what we have, not constantly seek replacement.
5. It harms the poor first
Wasteful lifestyles by some create scarcity for many. Pollution, climate change, and resource depletion affect the poor the most.
A throwaway culture is not only careless—it is unjust.
In short, we avoid a throwaway culture because:
• We love God’s creation
• We value human dignity
• We want responsible hearts
• We choose simplicity over excess
• We care for the poor
To resist a throwaway culture is to live a life of gratitude, stewardship, and compassion.