THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Central Luzon said that it is all out in supporting this year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) drive.
Presidential Proclamation 470 declares the third Sunday of September of each year as the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day in observance of the Global Coastal Cleanup celebrations. International Coastal Cleanup is the largest volunteer effort for ocean's health as people gather on beaches, coasts, rivers, waterways and underwater dive sites to remove trash and record information on the debris collected.
DENR Central Luzon supports the said activity which aims to protect our oceans, watersheds and wildlife from trash and debris. The DENR said that Central Luzon alone has a coastal length of 803 kilometers, composed of five coastal-rich provinces, including Aurora, Bataan, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Zambales.
According to recent studies, plastic pollution is a big threat to our marine resources and poses a serious danger to marine life. Animals can ingest plastic trash because they mistake it as preys or food, while others may have been broken down into tiny particles by seawater.
The annual cleanup event points at single-use plastic pollution as a major local and global issue.
Every year, cigarette butts, plastic food wrappers, and plastic beverage bottles/caps remain the top items found by ICC volunteers. Other common items include plastic bags, plastic straws and stirrers, plastic take-out containers, plastic lids, and foam take-out containers.
Given the alarming impact of plastic pollution on the region's marine resources, the DENR here encourages the public to take an active role in the protection and cleaning up of the marine environment and coastal areas. Established in 1986, the ICC was founded by the Ocean Conservancy to engage communities and build a network in addressing environmental problems that threaten marine biodiversity.