SUBIC, Zambales – Ang walang patumanggang paggamit at pagtatapon ng plastic kung saan-saan ang pinakamalaking suliranin para sa pangangalaga ng kalikasan.
Bawat taon, umaabot sa milyon tonelada ng plastic ang nakukuha sa mga dalampasigan at kung hindi ito matutugunan at mareresolusyunan, tinatatang malalagpasan nito ang dami ng mga isda sa karagatan sa taong 2050.
Sa kasalukuyan ang International Coastal Cleanup (ICC), isang organisasyon na may 100 bansang miyembro sa buong mundo kabilang na ang Pilipinas, sa nagsasagawa ng mga program at aktibidad upang masawata ang walang habas na pagtatapos ng plastik sa mga karagatan.
Tinatayang 132,000 pamilya, lumikas sa Eastern Visayas dahil sa super typhoon Pepito
Kamakailan, isinagawa ng ICC Philippines ang taunang ICC Environmental Summit, kabilang ang taunang beach cleanup sa Subic Bay Exhibition and Convention Center (SBECC.)
“It has been a long journey going here and we are happy with what the ICC Environmental Summit has become. This annual conference first started in 2014 since we believe that beach cleanup alone is not enough,” pahayag ni Zed Avecilla, area coordinator of ICC Zambales and Executive Director of Lighthouse Legacy Foundation. “The Lighthouse Marina Resort Legacy Foundation is very much committed to protecting our environment and come up with ways to expand and bring more people to this kind of advocacy,” aniya.
“Our job in cleaning up our surrounding can only be done or finished when people become disciplined enough to properly dispose of their garbage and to help in the waste management of their communities,” sambit ni Senator Cynthia Villar, Chairperson for Senate Committee on Environment and Natural Resources sa kanyang mensahe sa mga kabataan.
Isa sa tampok na aksyon sa naturang summit ang paglulunsad ng Youth Empowerment Symposium (#YES18), na naglalayong maturuan ang mga kabataan sa tamang paggamit at pangangalaga ng kalikasan.
Nakiisa rin sa programa ang mga executives at miyembro ng Philippine Alliance for Recycling and Materials Sustainability (PARMS) kabilang ang Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever at Nestle.
“Not only are we going to make sure that every package we have is recyclable, but we are also committed to making sure that by 2030, 50% of all the material in our packaging is made of recycled material,” pahayag ni Winn Everhard, President and General Manager of Coca-Cola Philippines.
“As a company, we want to grow while reducing our environmental impact and growing our positive social impact. In everything we do, from the time we started until now, we are very serious about this mission,” ayon kay Ed Sunico, VP for Sustainable Business and Communications of Unilever Philippines.
