SOME 250 volunteers generated 500 sacks of trash, estimated to weigh 3.7 metric tons more than double from last year, during the 10th edition of the annual Save Our Seas (SOS) drive at Luknay Creek in central San Fernando.

They included residents on both sides of the creek and employees of Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc. (TCPI), which organized the activity, and of Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC) and the Municipal Government.

Representatives of the Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) 7, the Community Environment Natural Resources Office (Cenro) based in Argao and the Bureau of Fire and Protection (BFP) participated in the community action.

Chiyuki Sugawara, TCPI senior vice president and plant manager, praised the participants for chipping in “to make small changes in our future by simply picking up garbage in our surroundings and in the river.”

He noted that many sea birds and marine animals die from swallowing small fragments of garbage, especially plastic that deteriorates due to ultraviolet rays the sun emits and other natural causes.

Engineer Romeo M. Gebilaguin, TCPI environment and safety manager, said that there is a need to “act now to take care of the environment for the next generation--for them to enjoy the gift of nature.”

He said studies indicate that 10 million tons of waste litter the ocean every year, adding that 70 percent are plastic that affects marine species, the habitat and the ecosystem.

“We have to contain this mad-made disaster,” said Gebilaguin.

Alberto Z. Gerozaga, head of Cenro-Argao’s Conservation Development Unit, agreed, saying: “Households must know and learn how to segregate plastics in order to contain these from accumulating more in our water bodies.”

“Individual commitment and cooperation is very important,” Gerozaga continued.

The same SOS activity in June last year generated 1.2 metric tons of garbage, a drop from the 2.6 metric tons in 2016. The amount tripled this year as population and migration in the area have increased.

Some 150 residents live along the 593-meter lowland of Luknay where runoff water flows from Barangays Tonggo and Tinubdan. Rainwater from SEDC quarry sites behind the plant in Tonggo also runs through Luknay.