Manizales (Colombia) March 17, 2016, Editorial staff.- The newspaper “La Patria” of Manizales and Caldas made an echo of the initiative for responsible consumption taken by the Catholic University of Manizales on March 16th. According to the daily newspaper, the Catholic University of Manizales had used 72 thousand disposable cups last year. Being aware of this number, on the world day of Responsible consumption, the students and those in administration shared a small cup of coffee in the open air as a first step to get rid of this practice in the institution.
UCM
According to Paola Andrea Calderón Cuartas, the investigator from the staff, the “campaña Soy consciente, soy UCM” (the campaign, I am conscious, I am CUM) includes different aspects to reduce the consumption of plastics.
“The goal is that in the cafeterias the selling of drinks will be done in glasses made of recyclable cardboard, in the same way they want to reduce the use of plastic bags and drinking straws, which are the first pollutants of the environment.” Natalia Escobar, directress of “Manizales Cómo Vamos”, assured that for the city it is vital that the institutions are united in these initiatives. “In Manizales every year the amount of waste is increased, more or less 1% annually and only 1% of this production is recycled.” She explained that, what is serious about these indicators is that the life utility of these sanitary fillings is approximately 5 years, and because of this we really have to think what to do with so many pollutants, if there is no responsible use and consumption. Escobar said that if this is practiced also in the other universities in the city, the result will be astronomical. "On the average, there will be a reduction of at least 4 million and 320 thousand disposable glasses”, she concluded. The campaign counts on the support of “Manizales Cómo Vamos” and of “Emas”, through their programme Act green.