West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) mobilized 277 volunteers who collected approximately 2.26 tons of waste, equivalent to 327 sacks, from six Manila Bay sites during this year’s International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).
The volunteers conducted cleanup activities at SM by the Bay; Island B in Barangay Maliksi, Bacoor, Cavite; the Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetlands Park; the Coastal Dike in Barangay Bagumbayan North, Navotas; Manila Ocean Park area; and BASECO.
Maynilad also provided drinking water stations at 10 ICC sites around Manila Bay, including the six locations where its volunteers participated in cleanup activities. A hand-washing station was also set up at SM by the Bay.
“Coastal cleanup activities help remove waste that has already reached our waterways, but prevention remains critical. Proper waste disposal in our homes and communities helps keep trash from entering drains, esteros and rivers and eventually reaching Manila Bay,” said Atty. Roel S. Espiritu, Maynilad Chief Sustainability Officer.
Maynilad conducts river, estero and coastal cleanup activities throughout the year as part of its environmental programs. The company also works with communities and partner organizations to help protect waterways within the West Zone and areas surrounding Laguna Lake, one of Maynilad’s raw water sources.
The company’s broader water resource protection initiatives include watershed rehabilitation under its Plant for Life program, which involves the planting and long-term maintenance of indigenous trees in priority watersheds.
The International Coastal Cleanup is an annual global volunteer effort held every September to collect and document waste found along coastlines and waterways.
PHOTO CAPTION: REMOVING WASTE FROM MANILA BAY. Maynilad volunteers retrieve plastic and other debris during this year’s International Coastal Cleanup. A total of 277 volunteers collected 327 sacks, or approximately 2.26 tons, of waste from six cleanup sites around Manila Bay. Maynilad also provided drinking water stations in support of cleanup activities at four more locations.
