2,000 volunteers collect trash on Lingayen beaches

LINGAYEN, Pangasinan—Cigarette butts, food wrappers, plastic cups and straws were gathered on Thursday by 2,000 volunteers who assembled to clean up the beaches here.

The trash collected from almost 2 kilometers of beaches weighed 700 kilograms by the time the volunteers completed their task, which was timed with the observance of the 30th International Coastal Cleanup Day, said Rowena de la Cruz, provincial solid waste management coordinator.

The volume of trash was an improvement, said Celso Salazar, head of the community environment and natural resources office (Cenro) based in Dagupan City.

“I never failed attending coastal cleanups and I can say there has been a big change here …. It was difficult to find trash,” he said.

Gov. Amado Espino Jr., who led the cleanup, made the same observation.

“Although the provincial government has assigned several employees to maintain the cleanliness in the beaches, many beachgoers now have the discipline [to properly dispose of] their trash,” he said.

Most towns in the province have also shown improvement and boasted that most rivers, including the Agno River, now exhibit better water quality and better discharge flow, he said.

Espino helped launch the “Save the Lingayen Gulf” coastal cleanup project in 1993 when he served as a police official. When he was elected governor, he expanded the program to include the river cleanup project, “Ilog Ko, Aroen tan Bilayen Ko.”

“My only concern now is the western area, along the Kakiputan Channel. There are still a lot of fish pens, fish cages and illegal structures [operating there],” he said.