Local government units (LGUs) in Ayungon and La Libertad adjust their coastal cleanup and solid waste management plans to overcome new environmental challenges with the help of AFOS Foundation and Negros Oriental Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NOCCI).
As part of its FISH Visayas project, AFOS Foundation, together with NOCCI, hosted a virtual Solid Waste Management and Coastal Cleanup Meeting via Zoom on August 19, 2021. LGUs in Negros Oriental actively participated in the event, which focused on the importance of regular coastal cleanup and an effective, updated solid waste management plan.
During the online meeting, Mr. Dann Diez, a Short-Term Expert, studied the plans and programs of the present LGUs. Using established criteria and benchmarks based on the best practices of barangays in Cebu, he stressed the need to enhance the LGU’s present management plans.
LGUs in Ayungon and La Libertad were found to have good solid waste management plans. However, the plans must be updated to properly and promptly address the new environmental concerns brought by the pandemic. After all, the rise in the use of plastics and in the generation of medical waste not only affects our homes but also poses a threat to our marine environment.
Earlier this year, several reports on household healthcare wastes ending up in oceans and other bodies of water were received by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Divers even discovered an abandoned face mask littering coral reefs in Anilao, Batangas. Because of this, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu expressed his great concern about the improperly discarded household healthcare wastes during the pandemic. He reminded everyone of the need to be aware of the responsibilities to the environment as stewards of nature.
Masks, gloves, bottles of hand sanitizer, and other plastic wastes take hundreds of years to biodegrade, so they have a lasting negative impact on the environment when improperly discarded. Several marine life can get entangled in mask and packaging bands. Some species of sea turtles even ingest gloves and plastic bags, mistaking them as jellyfish—one of their preferred prey. A number of marine wildlife can eventually die due to starvation because their stomachs are filled with plastic instead of nutritional food.
To prevent further damage to the marine environment, LGUs do not only improve their solid waste management plans. They also conduct regular coastal cleanups. By removing plastic wastes, trash, debris, residents are able to lessen the waste, raise awareness, and help preserve the marine ecosystem.
With the ongoing pandemic causing several restrictions on large gatherings, coastal cleanups cannot be done in large groups at the moment. Hence, volunteers are encouraged to connect with their respective LGUs if they want to participate in coastal cleanups because major adjustments were made to ensure that health and safety protocols are followed.