CLEARING the air one wall at a time! This was the message that the City Government of Makati wants the public to know as it declared its bid to be the country’s first “smog-free city.”
Makati will launch the “Green Walls of Makati Project” under the One Wall, One World Initiative today, Tuesday.
The city’s Department of Environmental Services (DES) chief Danilo Villas said the novel program will be formally launched at the Makati Parks and Garden-Bonifacio Monument at 11 a.m.
Villas said the program will make Makati the pioneer city, not only in the country but in the world, to undertake this initiative that seeks to fight smog and air pollution using breakthrough paint technology proven to take away almost nine cars’ worth of emissions for every square meter painted.
“We in Makati are proud to once again accept the challenge of being a frontrunner in an innovative and viable approach to promoting a clean and sustainable environment. This has certainly brought our continuing advocacy for the environment to a much higher level,” he said.
The DES chief said the City Government is undertaking the program in partnership with Boysen, Inc., Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities, Philippine College of Chest Physicians and the Center for Art, New Ventures and Development.
Other project partners include the Makati Cultural Affairs Office, Young Green Guards of Makati, University of Makati-NSTP, League of Local Environment and Natural Resources Officers of the Philippines, Association of Metro Manila Environment Officers, Ayala Group of Companies, Makati Environment Foundation, Inc., Earthday Network, Ms. Earth Foundation, Makati Commercial Estate Association, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, DepEd-Makati, and Clean Cities Makati Coalition, Inc.
The launching will also feature a ceremonial painting of the wall at Lawton Avenue in Barangay Cembo covering the roadside from J.P. Rizal to Kalayaan going to Gate One.
Harnessing a breakthrough paint technology proven to break down 8.4 cars worth of emissions for every square meter painted, Makati seeks to clean the air one wall at a time by painting them with Boysen KNOxOUT.
The air cleaning properties of the paint comes from its photocatalytic content which, upon exposure to light, has been found to turn ordinary water vapor into free radicals that break down the components of smog.
Villas said the project started out as part of the beautification program of the city, but on learning of the breakthrough features of the said paint product, the city leadership decided to adopt the One Wall One World concept to launch a major movement to fight air pollution in the city.
“Imagine the impact if we can repaint every wall of every barangay in Makati. With this project, we have much hope of making our vision of a smog and pollution-free Makati a reality,” Villas said.
The City Government is also inviting all residents who wish to join the One Wall One World Initiative by registering and logging on to www.onewalloneworld.com where they can participate in pledging Boysen KNOxOUT products, volunteer a wall to be painted or volunteer as a painter. (AH/Sunnex)