ILOILO City – Some 12,000 kilograms of trash were connected during the recent International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) in six provinces of Western Visayas.
The massive effort was led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and involved around 3,000 volunteers.
The cleanup resulted in 983 sacks filled with plastic waste from the coastal areas.
In addition to removing trash, volunteers identified and segregated different types of waste. They also filled out the ICC Ocean Trash Data Form, which is later submitted to the Ocean Conservancy — an organization that gathers data from participating countries in the ICC.
The ICC, held on Sept. 16, is one of the world’s largest volunteer initiatives focused on raising awareness about the health of oceans and bodies of water.
This year’s theme, “Clean Seas for Healthy Fisheries”, aligns with the United Nations’ Ocean Decade Challenge 3 which aims to “sustainably feed the global population.”
This event marked the first large-scale ICC gathering since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Previous ICC events between 2020 and 2022 were conducted on a smaller scale, in adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols.
DENR Region 6 director, Livino B. Duran, emphasized the critical importance of oceans to our planet.
“Our oceans produce 50 percent of the oxygen on this planet, and they hold a wealth of diverse natural resources that benefit humanity. We harvest fish for sustenance, discover medicinal compounds, and tap into renewable energy resources from our oceans,” he said.
He continued, “It’s our collective responsibility to minimize, if not eliminate, microplastic pollution in our oceans. We can begin this journey in our own homes by practicing effective solid waste management, following the 5 Rs — refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle. Let us remember that we’’re doing this not just for ourselves but for the sustainable future of generations to come.” (DENR-6)/PN
