Coastal clean-up yields 2 metric tons of garbage
SAN FERNANDO, Cebu (May 21, 2016) — Some 240 volunteers collected two metric tons of garbage at the river mouth of Luknay and adjacent coastal areas in San Fernando in a clean-up Taiheiyo Cement Philippines, Inc. (TCPI) organized today.
The volunteers included TCPI employees and those of its materials supplier, Solid Earth Development Corp. (SEDC), as well as their 72 scholars from middle school to college.
Representatives of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) in Central Visayas and employees of the local government units of San Fernando and South Poblacion also joined in cleaning the waterway.
TCPI organized the clean-up under the Save Our Seas (SOS) – Coastal Clean-Up banner of its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP), said Eng;r. Romeo Gebilaguin, division manager for environment and safety.
“Trash has infiltrated all reaches of our ocean, causing innumerable impacts to people, water quality, marine wildlife, even contributing to climate change,” he said in his welcome message during activity.
“We need individual action by being responsible for the rubbish we generate, and dispose of these properly,” he told the participants gathered at the TCPI multi-purpose recreation center as early as 6:45 AM.
Relentless
TCPI senior vice president and plant manager Kazuhiko Ichizawa underscored the need to “put our heart and enthusiasm during the clean-up in such way that we will never be getting tired in caring our environment.”
He went out of his way to demonstrate how to pick up plastic with the use of a bamboo stick, as he also thanked the participants with special mention to the company’s scholars.
Engr. Arthur Niño Calupig, EMB-7 environmental management specialist, lauded TCPI and SEDC for their relentless support to EMB’s SOS adopt-an-estero program.
He said EMB pursued it to help restore coastal areas, rivers and creeks as they used to be, naturally. “As we all pollute, we should be responsible for the pollution we generate,” he pointed out.
Some 150 residents live along the 593-meter lowland portion of the Luknay creek, a major tributary of runoff waters from the uplands of barangays Tonggo and Tinubdan.
The same creek passes through the southern side of the TCPI cement manufacturing facilities. Rainwaters from its quarry sites behind the plant in Tonggo also run through Luknay.
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