Sa pagsaulog sa Earth Day ning tuiga, ang AboitizPower subsidiary Therma Visayas, Inc. (TVI), uban sa Aboitiz Foundation, nag-organisar og underwater garbage cleanup uban sa iyang mga boluntaryo sa “Scubasureros” sa Barangay Bato niadtong Abril 14, 2022.
“Scubasurero is a term coined from ‘scuba diving’ and ‘basurero’ or garbage collector,” matod ni Therma South, Inc. (TSI) Reputation and Stakeholder Management Manager Lou Jason Deligencia.
“We have conducted this activity as part of our environmental commitment to help protect marine life, especially in the areas where we operate,” dason niya.
Si Deligencia dugang nipasabot, “The idea for this activity came from TVI employees who are also divers. They were diving in the beach just across TVI when they discovered trash stuck to the seabed, and so they’ve decided to tap us and other divers to conduct a wider underwater cleanup.”
Lakip sa mga boluntaryo mao ang TVI employees, community members, ug local government officers. Local surfers gikan sa Toledo Local Breakers groups ug mga miyembro sa Young Environmentalists group sa Barangay Cabitoonan nga naghatag usab sa ilang suporta sa kalihokan.
Ang dili diver nga boluntaryo naghimo usab sa ilang coastal cleanup sa samang dapit.
“I love to dive and I care for the environment—that’s a top priority of mine, and TVI’s Scubasurero project aligns with my interests and beliefs,” matod ni Architect Daryl Carabio sa Toledo LGU City Planning and Development Office.
Si TVI Procurement Operations Specialist Relyn Lazaro komitado alang sa makanunayong underwater cleanups sa pagpaminos sa basura.
“We were able to gather a lot of trash from just a few hours of diving—there was a lot of plastic and even clothes in just two hours, we were able to collect 101 kg of plastic, 21 kg of glass, piles of clothes,” matod ni Lazaro.
“We are hoping to raise community awareness on proper waste disposal and segregation since most of the trash we’ve collected underwater are single-use plastics, such as sachets and other plastic packaging, which do not easily biodegrade,” dason niya.
“We have to keep in mind that even the smallest plastic that gets into the sea can be damaging to sea life,” matod ni TVI Facilities and Services Administrator Jonneil Culala.
LIVELIHOOD
Si Deligencia nagkanayon nga ang kompaniya naghatag og konsiderasiyon sa mga molupyo sa dapit sa ilang planta nga kasagaran nanginabuhi sa kadagatan sama sa pagpangisda.
“Marine life in the area is so rich, but we need to ensure that it continues to thrive so that our local fishermen wouldn’t need to go farther out into the sea to catch any fish,” dugang niya. “It will be more efficient for them to fish nearer the coast.”
“We also intend to put up an initiative in managing Crown of Thorns (COT) starfish infestation in the area. COT feeds on corals and if left unmanaged, will devour an entire reef colony in months. Without corals, the fish will find habitat elsewhere creating lower fish catch for our fisher friends,” dason ni Deligencia.
Kin nga programa usa ka testamento sa pagka limitado sa TVI alang sa Sustainable Development Goals sa United Nations, labi na sa kinabuhi sa desenteng trabaho ug kalamboan sa ekonomiya.
BAHIN SA TVI
Ang TVI usa sa duha ka coal-fired power plants sa nasod nga dunay Coal Dome facility, ikaduha sa gidak-on sa unang igsuong planta nga Therma South, Inc. (TSI).
Nag-operate kini sa 340-MW Toledo power plant sa Brgy. Bato, Toledo City, Cebu. Migamit sa state-of-the-art Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) ug Best Available Control Technology (BACT) sa pagminos sa pagbuga sa abog sa coal nga makadaut sa kawanangan. (PR)