Laudato Si’ Featured Member of the Week: Dr. Peter Nitschke

“I always believed that faith is about conservation and healing. I want to contribute to the healing of the planet and be a testimony that Christianity provides a powerful answer to the challenges of our times when people put that faith into action.”
Published Feb 4, 2021

Healing Our Planet One Plastic Footprint At A Time

Peter Nitschke is the Faith Program Specialist of Plastic Bank. In the 20 years of his stay here in the Philippines, he has worked in different capacities of humanitarian work and, in 2018, became the Country Manager of the Plastic Bank Program. Their vision is to engage 1 billion people to stop ocean plastic by revealing the value of plastic as a currency as a conduit for transformation. In his role, Nitschke engages with faith-based organizations to reduce their plastic footprint. Plastic Bank works in 5 different countries worldwide, namely, the Philippines, Haiti, Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt. “I always believed that faith is about conservation and healing. I want to contribute to the healing of the planet and be a testimony that Christianity provides a powerful answer to the challenges of our times when people put that faith into action,” he says.
 
What are the lessons learned and the challenges you’ve experienced in advancing your advocacy/ initiatives?
Waking up very early (chuckles). Kidding aside, it’s gathering support and ensuring that we can deliver the project. 
In Plastic Bank, with the guide of experienced leaders and colleagues, it becomes more manageable. We look into all aspects of our roadmap and process flow. We pilot run, tweak, and test concepts until we get the right formula to ensure the projects’ sustainability in the communities. Being the Faith and School Partnership lead, we have to be creative and capture our intended market’s attention to ensure a change of mindset back to their homes and the community.
 
What are your commitments in response to Laudato Si’ encyclical?
In the encyclical, the Pope speaks about a “throwaway culture,” which refers to our linear economy, “Produce-Use – refuse.” We instead are promoting a circular economy, which is in line with how creation functions. This is our commitment to packaging waste and single-use packaging, creating an ecosystem that empowers communities to reveal the value of plastic through recycling and reduce their plastic footprint through more responsible consumption of goods. We provide resources to congregations and faith-based organizations to stop ocean plastic.
 
What kind of world do you want to leave to those who will come after us, to children who are growing up?
My key take away of Laudato Si is “Care”- Caring for our typical home, as it is also the shared home of the future generations. Thinking about the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12, “do unto others first, what you want others to do unto you,” means for me to put myself in the shoes of the generations to come. If I would be a child born today, what kind of home would I like to find left behind by the generations living today? Jesus said that in that phrase, we have the foundation of the whole law and the prophets. It is a significant message for us. All our action needs to be judged on this one criteria if we are serious as Christians.

Written by Editorial Team
Living Laudato Si Philippines Logo
Our website editorial team is led by the Communications Team of Living Laudato Si' Philippines.
Share This