ON the surface, it all appears clean and good,but a thorough look underneath the surface of Manila Bay’s coastline would reveal the opposite: Garbage is all over the marine environment.
A new study presented by EcoWaste Coalition on Thursday showed the coastline of Manila Bay is choking on 12 million pieces of litter.
Manila Bay has been the subject of massive rehabilitation. Yearly, various stakeholders launch coastal cleanup activities in the Bay.
The study, jointly conducted by EcoWaste, a local waste and pollution watchdog, the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), De La Salle University – Dasmariñas, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), showed 90 percent of the marine litter gathered was hard plastic fiber, film, and other types of plastic, and majority of these are single-use plastics (SUP).
The study entitled Marine Litter Monitoring Survey in Manila Bay: Year 1 (2023) Report, a component of the Enhancement of Marine Litter Management in Manila Bay, Philippines (2021-2025) Project, seeks to classify marine litter in the 10 coastal areas along Manila Bay covered by the study; to compare marine litter during dry and wet months; and identify top items of marine litter based on actual counts.
Through quantitative comparative research covering 10 areas in the National Capital Region, Region 3, and Region 4A, the study concluded that:
– Around 90 percent of all collected marine litter along the coastline areas are different types of plastic. Most of them are single-use utensils, sachets, and wrappers.
-11 million out of 12 million estimated marine litter collected along the coast of Manila Bay are plastics.
-The collected marine litter on the coastline of Manila Bay during dry and wet months did not show any significant difference in terms of counts and weight.
-It was estimated that nearly 60 percent of the weight of marine litter on the coastline of Manila Bay was from the weight of plastic litter. Fiber, film, and hard plastics have a combined weight of more than 240 metric tons.
The new study confirmed that the country is highly dependent on SUPs as a “sachet economy” is the norm.
Various studies have already shown that SUPs are destructive not only to our environment but also to human health. As plastics break down and become microplastics and nanoplastics, they find their way into the food we eat, which leads to a range of toxicological effects, including reproductive abnormalities, oxidative stress, and gastrointestinal dysfunction.
“The publication of this survey report is important because it is one of the first comprehensive comparative studies of marine litter on the coast of Manila Bay. This can be the basis for public and private institutions in their programs and activities relating to Manila Bay. Furthermore, this can guide our policymakers and authorities in crafting policies in managing litter that ends up in the Bay” Dr. Johnny A. Ching, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Research, La Salle-Dasmariñas.
Manila Bay is bordered by the coastal cities of the National Capital Region or NCR (Manila, Pasay, Paranaque, Las Piñas, and Navotas), and the coastal provinces of Bataan, Pampanga, Bulacan in Region 3, and Cavite in Region 4A.
It is intersected by the seven major rivers, draining 26 catchment basins. These rivers are the major sources of marine pollution in the Bay.
“We are alarmed that marine litter mostly from single-use plastics stuck in the coastal areas of Manila Bay. Studies show that single-use plastics pose a grave danger to vulnerable communities and are an escalating crisis for the environment, health, and climate. The study shows that we have a long way to go to eliminate the ubiquitous problem of single-use plastics and marine litter as a whole,” Von Vladimir L. Defuntorum, project lead, Enhancement of Marine Litter Management in Manila Bay, Philippines (2021-2025) Project, Ecowaste Coalition, said.
For its part, KOICA stressed: “With this baseline study, we are optimistic that it will contribute to the deepening of our understanding of the marine litter problem. We hope that this study will lead to the execution of impactful cost-effective policies and management practices towards prevention and reduction of marine pollution in Manila Bay by urging a multi-sectoral initiative to strengthen the environmental protection system in the Bay” said Ms. Yuna Lee, Manager, International Cooperation Team, Our Sea of East Asia Network (OSEAN).
The survey report study is one of the first studies that EcoWaste will conduct to classify the marine litter trend in Manila Bay during wet and dry seasons.
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