Coastal Cleanup Philippines

According to the Ocean Conservancy’s 2016 International Coastal Cleanup Report released last June 5th – World Environment Day, over 504,583 volunteers in 112 countries came together to pick up trash found along beaches and coasts in honor of the International Coastal Cleanup. We picked up 3,346,055 kilograms of trash, a total global weight more than the combined weight of 700 African elephants, 400 giraffes, 500 hippos, 600 white rhinos, 200 zebras and 100 lions.  We covered 24,136 kilometers of coastlines enough to walk around the moon twice. Ocean Conservancy’s Ocean Trash Index is the world's largest item-by-item, location-by-location database of trash found in near-shore environments. Last year, we’ve collected enough balloons to lift a 2,200 lb. walrus and enough fishing line to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench – the ocean’s deepest point – nine times over. Some of the more unusual items found in the September 2016 Cleanup include: 56 toilet units, 9 microwaves,...

The ever-increasing ocean trash – plastic waste in particular – has produced nothing less than a global crisis for ocean waters, marine wildlife and habitat, human health and safety, wasted resources and lost revenues for many nations. Fortunately, this is one environmental issue that can be addressed by tackling trash at the source before it has a chance to reach the water and by changing the behaviors that allow trash into the water in the first place. International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) provides the opportunity to make a difference in a global movement by getting rid of trash/debris from our shorelines, rivers, lakes and waterways; raising environmental awareness; and providing information which will guide and influence governments, corporations and industries in developing smart solutions to the marine debris problem. ICC is the largest volunteer-based initiative of the Ocean Conservancy, a non government organization based in Washington, D.C., USA. Last year, about 562,...

More than 107,000 Filipinos joined the 2014 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) last September 20 & 27, 2014. Although total participation went down by 29% due to a weather disturbance, we are acknowledged as one of the top ten countries in the 2014 ICC.  Cleanup volunteers poured in beaches, coasts, rivers, waterways and underwater seas from 29 provinces and 350 cleanup sites to participate in this symbolic event. Zambales was No. 1 among top ten provinces in terms of volunteer turnout, followed by Cebu, NCR, Batangas, Surigao del Sur, Pangasinan, Cavite, Negros Occidental, Quezon and Catanduanes.  An estimated 14,828 bags of trash weighing 189,245.54 kilos were collected and 287.04 kilometers covered during beach/shoreline, waterway, underwater and watercraft cleanups. Of the total categorized debris items collected, about 67% belonged to the “Top Ten Debris” – a list of the most prevalent trash found in all the cleanups. Food wrappers (41%), cigarette butts ...