2,000 kilos of waste collected in Coastal clean up in El Nido and Taytay

This year’s coastal clean up with the theme “Safe Oceans start at home” was joined in by International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and various sectors and collected close to 2,000 kilos of solid wastes, mostly single-use plastics from the coastal areas of Taytay and El Nido.

The International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) provides the opportunity to make a difference in a global movement by getting rid of trash/debris from our shorelines, rivers, lakes and waterways; raising environmental awareness; and providing information which will guide and influence governments, corporations and industries in developing smart solutions to the marine debris problem.

In the official social media page of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in CENRO, Taytay, Palawan said that prior to the coastal clean up activity, a short program was held with an environmentalist as a resource person. Edilberto “Edong” Magpayo of Pilipinas Shell Founation Inc. urged the local residents in Taytay to get rid and stop using single-use plastics.

“Hinikayat nito (Edilberto Magpayo) ang mga dumalo na iwasan ang paggamit ng single-use plastic. Aniya, ang plastic ay hindi natutunaw. Sa katagalan ito ay napupulbos na tinatawag na microplastic na napagkamalan na pagkain ng isda na nakokonsumo din ng tao. Kasabay nito, iminungkahi ni Magpayo na magdala ng bayong o basket na gawa sa rattan sa tuwing mamalengke dahil ayon sa kanya, ang Pilipinas ay tinaguriang capital of sachet economy at isa din sa top five polluters sa buong mundo,” DENR-CENRO Taytay said.

Magpayo is also the founder of Ayaw ni Princesa ng Plastik, an anti-plastic pollution advocacy group in Puerto Princesa City.

In Taytay town, participants were divided into four teams that collected solid wastes in the public market area, fish landing, mangroves within Little Tondo, Kuta, Purok Dos, Sitio Pantano, San Lorenzo-Bakawan, all of these sites are part of Brgy. Poblacion, Taytay town.

In El Nido town, the El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area-Protected Area Management Office (ENTMRPA-PAMO) led by Forester Mildred Suza spearheaded the coastal clean up activity in Barangay Corong-Corong in which they collected a total of 90 kilos of solid wastes.