THE Environmental Management Bureau-Davao Region (EMB-Davao) urges local government units (LGUs) to update their ten-year solid waste management plans and adapt to new regulations, especially given the increasing amount of plastic waste collected from the ocean.
Miralou Blanco, chief of EMB-Davao’s environmental monitoring and enforcement division, emphasized during the Kapihan sa Dabaw on September 9, 2024, that Davao City has already implemented its National Plan of Action on Marine Litter (NPOA-ML). She encouraged other municipalities, cities, and provinces to follow Davao City’s lead.
She also highlighted a decrease in the volume of litter found in the region’s oceans compared to 2022. Last year, 7,651 volunteers joined coastal clean-up efforts, collecting around 3,060 sacks of waste from Davao de Oro, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao del Norte.
She noted that while the amount of collected trash has declined, factors like the duration of the clean-up and the areas covered by volunteers have contributed to this shift.
Based on EMB-Davao’s observations, the top three types of debris collected during clean-ups are grocery bags, food wrappers, and plastic beverage bottles.
Every September, EMB-Davao celebrates National Clean-Up Month, with the third Saturday observed as International Clean-Up Day. This year, EMB-Davao is organizing region-wide clean-up drives and inviting the public to participate on September 21, 2024.
Several LGUs have already committed to joining International Clean-Up Day. Davao City has identified four priority areas, including all coastal barangays. In Davao de Oro, the priority areas span the Mabini protected areas and the coastal zones of Maco and Pantukan. Other key areas include Davao del Norte, Hagonoy, and Malalag in Davao del Sur, the Malita region in Davao Occidental, and Bubon, Banganga, Boston, Manay, Lupon, and San Isidro in Davao Oriental.
During these clean-up efforts, EMB-Davao will track the types of trash commonly found in bodies of water.
“The data that we’ve gathered in these coastal areas will serve for research purposes kasi dito po natin ma i-identify ano yung [because it will help us identify what is the] biggest contributor when it comes to liters going to our ocean,” she said. RGP