Coastal Clean-up - De La Salle University

What is a coastal clean-up?

A coastal clean-up is when people gather together on bodies of water like beaches, rivers, lakes and dive sites and collect all the garbage and at the same time record the kind and amount of trash they have collected. International Coastal Cleanup Day was established by the Ocean Conservancy, an organization that works to help protect the ocean from the challenges it faces every year. It was established in the United States in 1986. Each year, it is scheduled to be celebrated on the third Saturday of the month of September (1).

How has the Government Institutionalized its implementation?

In September 3, 1993, President Fidel V. Ramos signed the Presidential Proclamation No. 244 or the National Clean-up Month. The proclamation declares September of every year and the 17th to the 23rd of each September, beginning 1993, as the National Clean-Up Month and World Clean and Green Week respectively, pursuant to the clean-up and greening activities of the government, and of the Global YES Resolution (2). And in September 15, 2003, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo singed the Proclamation No. 470 or the International Coastal Clean-up Day. The proclamation declares every third Saturday of September of each year as the International Coastal Clean-up Day, consistent with Presidential Proclamation No. 244 declaring September as National Clean-up Month.

The first official recorded participation of the Philippines in the International Coastal Clean-up Day was in 1994. It was also the year the Philippines joined the International Maritime Alliance (IMA). Over 3,000 volunteers cleaned the shorelines and dive sites. From 1998, the Philippines has been topping the number of volunteers for the clean-up (3). Last September 17, 2022, the Laguna Lake Development Authority joined the celebration of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) 2022 together with DENR-NCR, other government agencies, and volunteers who conducted the cleanup at Manila Bay, Dolomite Beach (4). Private entities also joined in the clean-up drive. SM Group of Companies also joined the drive and did their coastal clean-up at the bay area of SM Mall of Asia Complex (5). The clean-up in the area was led by the Climate Change Commission (CCC) (6). Local government units also joined the clean-up drive in their locality. One of which was in Baseco Beach, Manila which was led by City of Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna (7).

Educational institutions participation

Since 2013, schools, government, and volunteer organizations come together for the Manila Bay Coastal Clean-Up that engages thousands of students for a service project to remove trash from the bay and identify sources of debris. Students and volunteers from more than 50 colleges and universities in National Capital Region joined the massive coastal clean-up drive along Manila Bay to promote better ocean health and environmental consciousness and to advance clean and peaceful communities through youth volunteerism (8). Majority of the students from different schools volunteering for the (ICC) were students enrolled with National Service Training Program or NSTP which was put into Republic Act in 2001. It has been a practice that students enrolled in NSTP are always involved in the International Coastal Clean-up Day.

What makes ICC different from other clean-ups?

What makes ICC unique, aside from the simultaneous and coordinated global execution is the emphasis on organized scientific data collection. Volunteers are requested, not only to pick up litter but also to identify and record the rubbish in a standard data card. The debris information generated is encoded in a database for analysis by pollution specialists who are racing against time to develop solutions to the marine debris problem (9).

What are the Top 10 items collected during the International Coastal Clean-up Day?

2017 became the first year that all of the top-ten most commonly found items during International Coastal Clean-up Day were made of plastic (including cigarette butts, which contains plastic filters). Unfortunately – but not surprisingly – the trend continued in 2018 (10).

Cigarette butts
Food wrappers
Straws, stirrers
Fork, knives, spoons
Plastic beverage bottles
Plastic bottle caps
Plastic grocery bags
Other plastic bags
Plastic lids
Plastic cups, plates

How is De La Salle University helping with ICC?

De La Salle University regularly sends students enrolled in NSTP for International Coastal Clean-up Day and to partner communities on a regular basis as its contribution to ICC but also started to ban single use plastics in campus starting January 13, 2021 (11). The list of banned single use plastic items on campus are:

Styrofoam food containers
Plastic bags (Sando bag and plastic labo)
Cling wrap
Clear sandwich plastic
Plastic utensils
Plastic straws and stirrers
Laminated paper food containers
Laminated paper cups
Laminated paper plates

Styrofoam food containers, plastic bags, plastic utensils and plastic straws and stirrers are among the top 10 of the collected items during International Coastal Clean-up Days. It is an initiative of the University, if not to totally eliminate its contribution of plastic waste going to the ocean, to significantly reduce it.

Is the International Coastal Clean-Up Day making enough impact?

According to R. Heliot of Ocean Blue Project (12) “Beach cleanup projects produce results. This is how it works. Reducing our use of plastic reduces our personal carbon footprint. Removing debris from beaches reduces the effects of pollution on our oceans. It’s the same idea.” The objectives of the International Coastal Cleanup is to engage people around the world to remove trash and debris from beaches, waterways and other water bodies, to identify the sources of the litter, to change behaviors that causes pollution and to raise awareness on the extent of the marine debris problem (3).

What can we do to, if not to stop, but reduce polluting our oceans?

According to Ms. Kim Jefferies, Special Adviser, Arendal in an article she wrote for Guard of Norway: “It is estimated that 8 -13 million tonnes of plastic ends up in the ocean each year. This corresponds to more than 15 tonnes of plastics each minute. Most of the plastic litter comes from shore sources although lost and abandoned fishing nets are also a significant contributor to plastic pollution. For example, one study estimated at least 46% of the accumulated plastic by mass in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch consists of fishing nets.

Plastic items gradually break into smaller particles in the sea and becomes available to a variety of organisms as “false food”. Plastics ingested by marine organisms from microscopic crustaceans to whales and birds have become a serious problem for the marine ecosystem. Fishing nets are doubly dangerous – “ghost fishing” by lost gear is responsible for capturing or ensnaring fish, turtles, sharks, dolphins, and even whales.” (13)

Ms. Jefferies was talking of tonnes of plastics entering the oceans not per day but per minute. This surely is not a small amount.

Also, United Nations Environment Programme or UNEP suggested:

“Governments are key actors in the plastics value chain and there are several things that they can do:

Firstly, they can eliminate the plastic products we do not need, through bans for example..

Governments can also promote innovation so the plastics we need are designed and brought into the economy in a way that allows for their reuse.

Governments also need to ensure we circulate plastic in the economy for as long as possible (14).”

Here are some of the countries that banned single use plastics or have parts of their country ban single use plastics or have tackled in part banning single use plastics (15):

Kenya – banned single-use plastic bags in 2017 and, this June, prohibited visitors from taking single-use plastics such as water bottles and disposable plates into national parks, forests, beaches, and conservation areas.
Zimbabwe – introduced a ban on polystyrene food containers in 2017, with fines of between $30 to $5,000 for anyone breaking the rules.
United Kingdom – introduced a tax on plastic bags in 2015 and banned the sale of products containing microbeads, like shower gels and face scrubs, in 2018. A ban on supplying plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds recently came into force in England.
United States – New York, California and Hawaii are among states to have banned single-use plastic bags, though there is no federal ban.
The European Union – plans to ban single-use plastic items such as straws, forks, knives and cotton buds by 2021.
China – has announced a plan to ban non-degradable bags in all cities and towns by 2022. Single-use straws will also be banned in the restaurant industry by the end of 2020.
India – instead of a proposed nationwide ban on plastic bags, cups and straws, states are being asked to enforce existing rules on the storage, manufacture and use of some single-use plastics.

How do we move forward?

It may take time for our governments to make laws and impose rules on banning single use plastics globally. Environmental organizations will be convincing their politicians in making laws banning plastics that pollute the environment, especially oceans and businesses will be lobbying that their products are vital to society. It will be a tug-o-war between the two with their politicians and governments. We can do our own share as individuals. UNEP suggested at least 8 things we can do (14):

Clean a Beach: If you live near a coastline, join beach clean-ups in your area. Or take your family along on a beach walk and start your own clean-up.
Clean a River: Rivers are direct pathways of plastic debris into the ocean. Join a river clean-up or do your own! The river will look nicer and benefit its ecosystem and the ocean.
Shop Sustainably: Next time you are out shopping, choose food with no plastic packaging, carry a reusable bag, buy local products, and refill containers to reduce your plastic waste and effect on the environment.
Try a Zero-Waste Lifestyle: Become a zero-waste champion. Invest in sustainable, ocean-friendly products- reusable coffee mugs, water bottles and food wraps. Consider options like menstrual cups, bamboo toothbrushes and shampoo bars. These will help you save money and the ocean too.
Travel Sustainably: When you are on holiday, try to watch your single-use plastic intake. Refuse miniature bottles in hotel rooms, take your own reusable drinking bottle and use reef-safe sunscreen, without microplastics.
Be an advocate for change: Ask your local supermarkets, restaurants and local suppliers to ditch plastic packaging, refuse plastic cutlery and straws, and tell them why. Pressure your local authorities to improve how they manage waste.
Dress Sustainably: The fashion industry produces 20 per cent of global wastewater and 10 per cent of global carbon emissions. That’s more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. “Fast fashion” is so last year. Consider sustainable clothing lines, vintage shops and repair your clothes when possible.

Choose plastic-free personal care products: Personal care products are a major source of microplastics, which get washed into the oceans straight from our bathrooms. Look for plastic-free face wash, day cream, makeup, deodorant, shampoo and other products.

Sources:

1. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/coastal-cleanup-day/#:~:text=International%20Coastal%20Cleanup%20Day%20encourages,left%20by%20visitors%20each%20day