The US government has awarded two grants worth P20 million to two local environmental groups to expand their work that would also support the rehabilitation of the heavily polluted Manila Bay.
Mother Earth Foundation (MEF) and EcoWaste Coalition joined five other local groups that received grants under the US Agency for
International Development’s (USAID) Municipal Waste Recycling Program since 2016.
5-year program
The five-year project has supported waste management programs and recycling efforts in the Philippines, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam to cut back and prevent land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution.
On Thursday, USAID formally awarded the grants to the two organizations in a ceremony in Quezon City.
Their work, which will begin by July or August, will cover 18 months and involve community programs and information campaigns on plastic pollution and other solid wastes.
Batangas coast
MEF will help the environmental office of Batangas City to apply a “zero-waste” approach to solid waste management in 30 barangays in the city.
MEF chair Sonia Mendoza said implementing the zero-waste programs would allow residents to be more involved in collecting, segregating and recycling their wastes.
“If you have biodegradable waste, which amounts to about 70 percent in provinces, you can compost these or use them as animal feed. With that, you already divert 70 percent of trash [from the dumps],” she said.
Manila Bay work
EcoWaste, on the other hand, would spearhead three research programs that would look into the flow of plastic and efficiency of solid waste collection in communities surrounding Manila Bay and its tributaries.
After the studies are completed, along with educational campaigns, EcoWaste would turn over their results to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for their crafting of a national action plan on marine litter.