DENR collection contest involves youth in fight vs. plastic pollution

PLASTIC POLLUTION. Plastic materials litter the shoreline of Manila Bay on the portion of Las Piñas-Parañaque Wetland Park in this February 2024 photo. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is intensifying the fight against plastic pollution through a plastic collection competition among students nationwide to mobilize the youth and foster a culture of environmental responsibility. (PNA photo by Yancy Lim)

MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is intensifying its fight against the use of plastic through the Earth Day Every Day Project, a plastic collection competition among students nationwide.

The project seeks to mobilize the youth in curbing plastic pollution and foster a culture of environmental responsibility.

it will be launched on April 22 in partnership with the private sector and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

The Earth Day Every Day Project advocates the promotion of feasible methods to reduce waste and foster a culture of sustainability among the youth and communities, and motivates participation through incentives,” DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said in a news release over the weekend.

Loyzaga expressed hope that the support, collaboration, robust presence, and proactive engagement of private companies and groups will serve as a “multiplier effect” in the advocacy against plastic use.

The DENR has been advocating for a circular economy to combat plastic pollution in the country by promoting the reuse, recycling, and responsible management of plastic use to help enable a lower greenhouse gas emissions plastic economy.

Jessica Sy-Bell, assistant vice president of private partner SM Prime Holdings, Inc., said regenerating the planet through initiatives in recycling water and repurposing solid waste, as well as the use of renewable energy, has long been the advocacy of the mall and real estate giant.

With the Earth Day Every Day Project, she said students are motivated to collect plastics within their communities and bring them to collection facilities located in SM malls.

Nestlé Philippines Inc. also noted the urgency in effectively tackling the plastic waste crisis.

The multinational food and beverage company and its partners implement environmental sustainability initiatives, including solid waste management education for 11 million public school students, and capacity building for over 2,000 community leaders nationwide, according to corporate affairs head senior vice president Joey Uy.

Student scouts from various schools will bring the plastic items they collected for a weigh-in at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

“The class with the highest volume of plastic items will win a prize,” the DENR said.

The DENR said that points will be assigned according to the type of plastic collected.

“Every month, prizes will be awarded to the class with the highest points, and at the end of the year, to the school with the highest-pointer classes,” it said.

A survey conducted by environment advocate Greenpeace International across 19 countries in February revealed that nine out of 10 Filipinos or 94 percent believe that implementing a cap on plastic production will stop plastic pollution, prevent biodiversity loss, and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

The same survey also showed that 88 percent of Filipinos believe that the Global Plastic Treaty must ban single-use plastic packaging.