Discarded plastic pollution is now recognised as a worldwide phenomenon; with the Philippines one of the worst culprits. Some cities are making serious efforts to stem the tide, however – including one which has been described as ‘a little paradise on earth’ – the Island Garden City of Samal. By Henrylito D. Tacio.
Courtesy WWF
Davao, Philippines. January 2020. Just a few years ago, the world was reported to have already produced 396 million tons of plastic waste, according to a report released by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). That is equivalent to 53 kilograms of plastic for each person on the planet today.
“The problem with plastics has been escalating for decades, and the Philippines has been identified as the world’s third largest contributor of plastics in the ocean,” said WWF in a recent report. “Plastic pollution has always been a huge issue in the Philippines with the continuous generation of plastic wastes and poor waste management.”
WWF’s Joel M. Palma. Courtesy WWF.
As well as being bad for the environment, it is bad for animals. Almost 250 separate wildlife species have been found with ingested plastics. They are also a human health issue as well. Studies have shown that on the average, a person could be ingesting approximately five grams of plastic every week in the form of microplastics.
As part of its initiative to mitigate this looming problem, WWF has come up with the No Plastics in Nature (NPiN) project. This aims to stop the flow of plastics entering the oceans by 2030 through elimination of unnecessary plastics, doubling reuse, recycling, and recovery, and ensuring remaining plastic is sourced responsibly across a global list of Plastic Smart Cities (PSC).
“With the No Plastics in Nature initiative, we are hoping to make the Philippines free of unnecessary plastic wastes, but we cannot do this alone, we need the help of everyone,” said CEO of WWF-Philippines Joel M. Palma. “Every individual, company and institution should be mindful of the amount of plastics they produce and use daily, and take action accordingly, to make this goal a reality.”
As a result, the Island Garden City of Samal (IGaCoS) in Davao Region, has joined the PSC program.
Samal Mayor Al David T. Uy
“The Plastic Smart Cities project is timely as we aim to extend the life span of our sanitary landfill through plastics reduction,” said IGaCoS Mayor Al David T. Uy. “Our city will exert full effort and political will in supporting this … project.” The WWF chose IGaCoS for this first implementation as it has worked in Davao Gulf since 2008 and with the city since 2011.
“This is our third project here and we are excited to support the implementation of their Solid Waste Management plan, specifically on residuals processing and campaigning to raise awareness,” said Chrisma Salao, vice-president for the WWF-Philippines conservation program.
The project will see business and commercial sectors of the city working to reduce single-use plastic, and to find ways to redesign packaging materials so they are environment-friendly, ideally with a side benefit of becoming income-generating for the communities that use them.
Washed up plastic garbage clogs a Davao beach. Courtesy H. Tacio.
It would seem this is an urgent issue. According to one research group, the Philippines discards 60 billion plastic sachets each year, along with consuming some 45 billion plastic bags every day. That’s about one sachet per person per day on a per capita basis – which doesn’t sound much but runs into the millions and billions, depending on the location.
The WWF and IGaCoS are also working with the education sector “to co-host and co-organise learning camps for education and behaviour change leading to youth action.” This could lead to dumpsite mapping, identifying at risk waterways, and characterising marine litter.
“As a youth, I will support this initiative of our government because it is a big help to Nature,” said president of the Alliance of Concerned Youth of Samal, Paul Philip B. Agua. “We have to lessen the use of plastics. People don’t mind throwing their garbage anywhere but they are not seeing the big effect on our environment,” he added.
WWF-Philippines CEO Palma agrees. “The problem on plastic pollution will only continue to worsen if we don’t do anything about it,” he said. “We are determined to address this issue to ensure that there will be no more plastic pollution in nature by 2030.”