Waste Not(?) Wednesday?

SCIENCE EDITORIAL • 2 min read · April 24, 2025

Illustrated by ELIZABETH ANCAJA.


Today, the environmental crisis persists as a cause for concern, worsened by the overwhelming waste produced by communities. According to a Statista report by Christy Balita, the Philippines amassed an estimate of 60,500 metric tons of solid waste daily in 2023.

As an institution, Colegio San Agustin - Makati (CSA) has a responsibility to initiate action in an effort to create a more sustainable planet. In light of this, CSA implements “Waste Not Wednesday”, where every Wednesday, reusable containers replace the normal take-out containers in the cafeteria.

However, the program, though simple, has attracted varying perspectives and polarized views, sparking debate on the program’s concept and implementation’s effectiveness.

To better understand the diverse perspectives on the program, students were interviewed, providing deeper insights on how this program resonates with the community.

One positive aspect of the program is that it is well intentioned and thoughtful. It is also clear and concrete, allowing students to meaningfully contribute to the community effort in an achievable manner.

However, another overarching theme from the responses was that the program suffers from a weak execution. This is manifested in different ways.

Some stalls blatantly ignore the initiative and continue to offer disposable paper packaging. While others do comply, they do so superficially. They remove food from its original packaging, serve it on reusable plates, and then discard the original packaging.

To address this, there must be more attentive monitoring of the program implementation, and it would also be beneficial to revise guidelines to make sure that they are practical yet realistic in order to improve implementation. For example, specifying certain exceptions to the program would ensure that stalls do not simply comply for the mere sake of compliance.

Another point of contention with the program is its potential to produce water waste. While this may seem unimportant in hindsight, it becomes a reasonable argument when analyzed on a deeper level. A CNET article says that hand-washing dishes can take up to 27 gallons of water per load, exponentially increasing when considering the volume of plates that need cleaning.

With all of this in mind, certainly, Waste Not Wednesday is not a perfect program. In fact, it requires a substantial amount of improvement. However, despite this, the continued implementation of this program remains vital for the community.

Through this program, the idea of making small sacrifices for a better world is slowly but surely implanted in the community. While Waste Not Wednesday is not perfect, it is a step in the right direction, and with some improvements, it can make an even more significant impact on the Augustinian community.