Thousands expected to join Manila Bay cleanup on Saturday

Manila Bay cleanup. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines – Tens of thousands of Filipino volunteers are once again expected to roll up their sleeves and wade in the murky waters of Manila Bay to pick up garbage on Saturday, the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources, along with the Philippine Coast Guard Auxiliary, will lead the local observance of the global cleanup day at Manila Bay along Roxas Boulevard in Manila and the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area.

In a news release, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said he hoped a smaller volume of waste would be gathered this year as an indication that efforts to rehabilitate the polluted body of water were gaining ground.

“I think it is about time we focus on less trash that the volunteers would have to retrieve from the shores, waterways and underwater,” Paje said.

While the agency is delighted that the Philippines has consistently gathered some of the biggest numbers of ICC volunteers every year, it is also saddened by the fact that the volume of recovered trash has doubled each year, as well, the official said.

Based on the yearly reports of the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy, the volume of ocean trash collected by volunteers in the Philippines has doubled every year in the last three years.

In 2010, more than 145,000 Filipino volunteers picked up a total of 240,360 kilos of trash. In 2011, some 114,418 volunteers recorded 485,091 kilos, and in 2012, almost 144,000 people retrieved more than 1.3 million kilos, the reports showed.

“As you can see, the number of registered volunteers has more or less remained the same, but the amount of trash they picked up in just one day has doubled alarmingly. It means more trash is making its way into our waters,” Paje said.

He said the objective of celebrating the ICC Day was not only to have the most number of volunteers, but actually to reduce the amount of trash thrown into coastal waters.

“We would rather be known as a country where the trash they pick up has lessened significantly, as this would be a good success indicator for our solid waste management programs,” he said.

He urged the public to be mindful of where they throw their trash and not to depend on having others to clean the beaches and waterways, noting that the country’s solid waste management law calls for a “preventive lifestyle, where we minimize our wastes and prevent more of them from making their way into our waters.”

“We should remember that clean waters and oceans also mean a healthier environment for our coastal and marine resources, which we heavily depend on for food,” Paje said.

Held every third Saturday of September, the ICC Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1986. An active participant in the worldwide event since 1994, the Philippines has consistently ranked second, next only to the US, in drawing the biggest number of volunteers.