PHL tops list of countries participating in int’l coastal cleanup activities

THE PHILIPPINES ranked first among the 25 countries that participated in international coastal cleanup activities around the globe, according to the Ocean Conservancy 2018 Report.

Over 200,000 volunteers from the country joined the International Coastal Cleanup in 2017, gathering more than 230,000 kilograms of trash from beaches and waterways.

In 2017, the environmental group Haribon Foundation collected at least 83 sacks of styrofoam waste, 85 sacks of rubber and cloth waste (shoes, slippers, bags) and 57 sacks of plastic waste (utensils, straws, plastic bags, wrappers, diapers, bottles).

Almost five million pieces of tiny trash were collected from the world’s oceans that year. Cigarette butts topped the list of the world’s coastal trash, increasing in number from 1.8 million pieces in 2016 to over 2.4 million in 2017.

On average, cigarette butts take at least 10 years to rot, while plastic products will need five centuries to a thousand years to decompose.

In the Philippines, nearly one million food wrappers were found in shorelines last year, making them the most common coastal trash in the country.

items tend to break into smaller pieces called microplastics until they become small enough for many wildlife to mistake them for food,” Haribon Foundation said.

“It is with great concern that many of the fish that we now eat also contain plastic and the toxins that accumulate with them.”

Many of the smaller wastes are either thrown onto the shores or end up in sewer drains, leading to different bodies of water.

This National Cleanup Month, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources invites organizations and individuals to join thousands of volunteers in the International Coastal Cleanup on Sept. 22 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

There will be five congregation sites around Metro Manila — SM by the Bay in Pasay City, the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Eco-Tourism Area (LPPCHEA), Malabon, Navotas and Polytechnic University of the Philippines’ Sta. Mesa campus.

Environmental groups like Haribon organize year-round coastal cleanup drives in LPPCHEA, which is also globally recognized as an important resting and feeding stop for almost 5,000 migratory birds.

“Through our cleanup activities, we hope to bring people closer to the waste problem at hand so that we can stem it from the source,” said Haribon.

To join Haribon’s conservation activities, visit their Facebook page, fb.com/ goharibon, or e-mail partnerships@ haribon.org.ph.