A DAVAO City–based environmental group and volunteers called on the public to take better care of the Davao City Coastal Road after collecting a large volume of trash along a stretch in Matina Aplaya.
During the clean-up activity, volunteers gathered around 12 sacks of waste, including polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, plastic sachets, and glass bottles. A brand audit showed that most of the waste came from Nature Spring bottles (196 PET bottles), Coca-Cola (eight PET bottles), and Oishi (73 sachets), followed by Jack ‘n Jill (158 sachets) and C2–Universal Robina (33 bottles).
Eugene Errol Sugano, president of Bantay Dagat, emphasized the scale of the problem, noting that they had already recovered a significant amount of trash in just the first 100 meters of the clean-up area. Much of it was difficult to retrieve, trapped along the sides of the dike.
"Very alarming ni, 100 meters pa lang amo na clear, 17 kilometers pa ang tibuok coastal road (This is very alarming. We have only cleared 100 meters so far, while the entire coastal road stretches for 17 kilometers),” Sugano said.
Sugano attributed the growing waste along the coastline to people who irresponsibly discard trash while walking, jogging, or picnicking in the area. He said Bantay Dagat will continue its regular clean-ups and brand audits, while also pushing for stricter enforcement of Davao City’s local waste management ordinances.
Meanwhile, Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis) renewed its call for full implementation of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law and urged companies whose products dominated the brand audit to take greater accountability.
“The organization also appealed to fellow Dabawenyos to practice zero waste, use tumblers and other reusables when visiting coastal areas, warning that continued neglect will only worsen marine pollution in Davao Gulf,” IDIS wrote in a Facebook post on Jan. 31, 2026.
Idis conducted the Waste and Brand Clean-Up Audit along the Coastal Road in coordination with Bantay Dagat–Fisheries Law Enforcement Team (FLET) of Matina Aplaya, the Students Alliance of Environmental Advocates in Davao, and the Public Safety and Security Office (PSSO) as part of the city’s Zero Waste Month activities. RGP