THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the City of San Fernando recently donated mini trash boats to five municipalities in Bulacan in an effort to boost cleanup and rehabilitation activities of major river systems directly draining to the greater portion of the Manila Bay.
Emelita Lingat, chief of the DENR office in Bulacan, reported that four mini trash boats were given to the City of Meycauayan, while the City of Malolos and towns of Calumpit, Hagonoy, and Paombong received one unit each.
“The distribution of these trash boats would be supplemental in our cleanup efforts, as well as in our waterway patrolling and monitoring activities especially in the Marilao-Meycauayan-Obando River System,” Lingat said.
Said trash boats would be added to 13 motorized banca, which had been doled out to cities of Meycauayan and Malolos and towns of Marilao, Obando, Paombong, and Hagonoy since 2018.
For his part, DENR Regional Executive Director Paquito Moreno Jr. noted that the endowment of trash boats to local government units (LGUs) would not only fast-track collection of floating trash in river systems connected to the Manila Bay, but would likewise strengthen the implementation of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act in each municipality.
“The magnitude of our waste problem can only be minimized through our collective efforts with the LGUs and the citizens. Local communities play a critical role in environmental sustainability, as waste management starts at home,” Moreno ended.
Since the Manila Bay cleanup and rehabilitation program commenced on 2019, the DENR in the City of San Fernando has collected more than 85,600 tons of wastes from 3,900 cleanup activities conducted in Bulacan.
The province is part of the 190-length of the Manila Bay area in Central Luzon. Of this, 43 kilometers is part of the coastline of Bulacan.