Thousands join International Coastal Cleanup Day in Bicol

Press Release
September 29, 2010

LEGAZPI CITY - The 25th International Coastal Cleanup Day Celebration in Bicol Region last weekend (September 25) was marked with success as thousands of Bicolano volunteers cleared several miles of coastlines with marine debris to show solidarity with the world that cleaning up beaches and waterways is the key in safeguarding the ocean’s biodiversity.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through its Coastal and Marine Management Division and Environmental Management Bureau revealed as of press time, an estimated 1,300 kilograms of trash were hauled out from the beaches and waterways of Legazpi City alone, since the data cards collected from other DENR field units all over the region have not been accounted for.

DENR-CMMD/EMB and the Rotary Club of Legazpi Central spearheaded the ICC Day last Saturday in the Albay Gulf. Alongside the cleaning up of beaches and waterways, the Bicol Scuba Divers Foundation Inc. cleared identified coral reefs off the shores of Albay Gulf.

Last year, 13,000 kilograms of trash were cleared by 2,000 volunteers in Bicol Region. According to the 2010 Annual Marine Debris Report by the Ocean Conservancy, the lead organization for the ICC, the Philippines ranked 2nd next only to the United States, likewise, was able to mobilize in 2009 a total of 74,493 volunteers who collected from a cleanup area of 2,427 kilometers a total of more than 327,000 kilograms of debris. Of these, there were 24,751 pieces of plastic bags.

Information on the number of volunteers and type and number of waste gathered are indicated on data cards which are filled in on-site and later summarized and reported to Ocean Conservancy. These cards show that most of the debris or pieces of trash polluting our waterways and oceans are from everyday human consumption and activities, such as cigarette butts, food wrappers, cans, bottles, and plastic bags.

ICC Day is organized by Ocean Conservancy as a global effort to remove trash and debris from beaches and waterways, and aims to change human behaviors that allow them to reach the ocean in the first place. To date the ICC is acknowledged as the world’s largest one-day volunteer effort to clean up the marine environment.

In the Philippines, the observance is in consonance with Proclamation No. 470 dated September 15, 2003 which declared every third Saturday of September each year as the International Coastal Cleanup Day, consistent with Presidential Proclamation No. 244 declaring September as National Cleanup Month. This year’s observance is focused on the theme: “Trash Travels – From our Hands to the Sea, round the Globe, and Through Time”, complemented with the national theme “Basurang Pinabayaan, Problema Hanggang Ibang Bayan”. (ASAraya, DENR-V/PIA)