MANILA, Philippines — Volunteers gathered over 466,000 kilograms of garbage from hundreds of rivers, shorelines, waterways, and marine sites across the country during Saturday’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reported.
The annual environmental drive mobilized more than 103,000 participants across all 17 regions. Beyond removing marine debris, participants cataloged the specific types of trash found along waterways and coastal neighborhoods.
The nationwide drive saw participation from local government units, government institutions, academic institutions, private enterprises, civic groups, and community sectors.
Discarded materials gathered during the activity included food packaging, paper and plastic plates and cups, polystyrene containers, drinking straws, stirrers, and various other single-use items.
According to the DENR, the collected waste was weighed, sorted, and recorded by category. The compiled data will help identify marine litter trends and support the formulation of targeted waste-management policies.
In Metro Manila alone, over 36,000 participants joined cleanup efforts across 11 key locations, such as Baseco Beach, Manila Bay Dolomite Beach, Manila Ocean Park, the Pasig River along Barangay 836, the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park, SM by the Bay, and the Tanza Marine Tree Park.
Additional cleanup operations were conducted in Bagumbayan North, areas along the Marikina River, Solaire Coast, and the ASEANA Business Park.
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna noted that the nation’s strategy for solid waste management has continually transformed over time.
“But regardless of how many ‘Rs’ we add to the framework of reuse, reduce, and recycle, there is one ‘R’ that makes all the others possible: this is our responsibility,” Cuna said in a statement.
“Responsibility transforms policies into practice. It turns technology into solutions. And it turns individual actions into national progress,” he added.
The DENR also highlighted the engagement of enterprises bound by Republic Act No. 11898, or the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022.
The statute mandates that large corporations categorized as obliged enterprises recover an increasing percentage of the plastic packaging materials they introduce to the market.
Participation in the ICC allowed these companies to align corporate responsibility programs directly with actual waste conditions in local waterways and communities, according to the environmental agency.
Cuna stressed that upgrades to waste-management facilities and systems must go hand in hand with shifts in daily routines.
“It begins with simple choices to refuse what we do not need, to segregate waste properly, to reuse what we can, and to dispose of what remains responsibly. When millions of Filipinos make responsible choices every day, we create lasting change,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. advocated for the modernization of Republic Act No. 9003, also known as the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, during his fifth State of the Nation Address.
Marcos stated that the 25-year-old law requires updates to incorporate modern technologies and practices, including waste-treatment platforms and waste-to-energy systems.