By Anamarie Antolin- @TheCapitol_News The Capitol October 7, 2022
Overwhelmed by the heaps of garbage collected from coastal areas, Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach became the spot of public attention during the Coastal cleanup drive. (Photo courtesy of The STAR/Walter Bollozos)
MANILA, Philippines— To address coastal litter and prepare for the Manila Bay coast's opening to the public, The Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) led the Manila Baywalk Dolomite Beach cleanup drive in celebration of International Coastal Clean-Up (ICC) Day on Saturday, September 17.
Over 4,500 sacks of garbage were collected on the controversial multi-million-peso-funded beautification project with the help of more than 4,000 volunteers from different government agencies and private organizations.
According to DENR-Metropolitan Environmental Office (MEO) West OIC Director Rodelina de Villa, the collected garbage mainly consisted of plastic wastes, dried water hyacinths, and marine debris.
A total of 83,109 sacks of water hyacinth were gathered, including 2,224 sacks of marine debris over the months of the initiatives.
On September 16, the Manila Bay Coordinating Office issued a "public advisory" on its Facebook page inviting the public to participate in the ICC, which drew criticism from the audience.
"The government spends millions on a vanity project then expects the people to volunteer for free to clean it up." said one commenter.
Some users expressed dismay over the millions allocated to develop it in 2020 amid the worsening health crisis and COVID-19 cases.
"This only means that dolomite beach is such a waste of money. Definitely not the best solution to clean Manila Bay. It was all artificial. It was never a solution," another user commented.
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The rehabilitation project costs P349 million, with an additional P265-million budget for the second phase of rehabilitation.
The 500-meter artificial beach has completed several cleanup initiatives since it was opened to the public in 2021.
According to DENR-MEO-West data, 147,939 sacks of solid waste were collected in cleanup activities conducted from July 12 to September 14.
The International Coastal Cleanup is observed in more than 100 countries worldwide every September, with over 300 million pounds of trash collected since 1986.
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Keywords:
environment
Manila Baywalk
Dolomite Beach
cleanup drive
Coastal Clean-up
4,500 sacks of garbage
ICC
volunteers
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