West Zone concessionaire Maynilad Water Services, Inc. (Maynilad) participated in the 37th International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) drive, which was held simultaneously in different locations within the National Capital Region. The water company rallied 69 volunteers from its own employee ranks—as well as from TV5 Network Inc., Cignal TV, Alagang Kapatid Foundation and the Philippine Navy’s Naval Reserve Command—to assist in the cleanup drive, managing to collect around 1,000 kilos of trash from the Manila Bay coastline near the grounds of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Maynilad also provided a water station and water tanker during the event.
Since 2010, Maynilad has been supporting this cleanup drive, which is spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Other cleanup sites this year include Tanza Marine Park and Barangay Tangos North and South rivers in Navotas; San Francisco River in Quezon City; Baseco, Dolomite Beach, and SM by the Bay in Manila; and Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park.
The International Coastal Cleanup is the world’s largest volunteer effort to clean the ocean. In 2003, Presidential Proclamation No. 470 was issued declaring the third Saturday of September of every year as ICC Day in the Philippines. Every year, volunteers remove tons of trash from coastlines, rivers, and lakes and record the trash they collect.
The cleanup drive also aims to raise environmental awareness and provide information that will guide and influence governments, corporations and industries in developing smart solutions to the marine debris problem.
