Garbage more than enough to fill an Olympic-size pool has been recovered from at least 22 “esteros,” or waterways, around Metro Manila in the past two weeks, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
MMDA spokesperson Tina Velasco said the agency’s cleanup campaign, which MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino launched early this month, retrieved some 3,428 cubic meters of trash from 22 waterways.
An Olympic-size pool can hold at least 2,500 cu. m. of water.
Velasco said that in the first two weeks of the cleanup, the collected garbage filled up 536 trucks.
The refuse varied from human and kitchen waste to plastic bags, metal fragments, broken shoes and appliances.
The metro-wide cleanup of waterways is aimed at reducing floods in Metro Manila, where streets are inundated with rainwater during intermittent rains.
Flooded roads are rendered impassable and often snarl traffic in major thoroughfares and even side streets.
During the past months, floods from a sudden downpour were the bane of motorists and commuters alike that government agencies had to suspend classes—even without a storm warning from the weather bureau—just to ensure students and workers could go home soon and safely.
Indiscriminate dumping of garbage in the waterways and on the streets has been pinpointed as among the factors that cause floods in the metropolis.
Tolentino had said the cleanup of waterways would be carried out until September 8, with at least two “esteros” unclogged daily.
With the assistance of the military, police and communities, the MMDA began cleaning up eight flood-prone areas in Metro Manila in July which had been identified as critical points that affected the water buildup on the streets.
These areas were: Sampaloc Area/R. Papa in Manila and Makati Diversion Channel/South Superhighway in Makati City;
Maysilo Circle, Boni Avenue, Kalentong, New Panaderos, Shaw Boulevard and Acacia Lane in Mandaluyong City; Barangays (villages) Salapan and Balong Bato in San Juan City; and Doña Imelda, Damayan Lagi, Tatalon and Talayan in Quezon City.
After clearing these sites, the MMDA proceeded with unclogging other waterways in Metro Manila.