PLASTIC WASTE | Philippines is biggest plastic waste contributor to oceans

PLASTIC WASTE | Philippines is biggest plastic waste contributor to oceans – study

June 10, 2021 , 09:59 PM

(June 10, 2021) – Close to 500 rivers in the Philippines are responsible for contributing to the pollution of the world’s oceans with plastic waste, a nonprofit organization revealed in a study, raising alarms over the environmental situation in the world.

The Ocean Cleanup said the country releases an estimate of 356,371 metric tons of plastic waste to oceans annually, naming Pasig River as the most polluting river in the world in terms of plastics.

India followed with 126,513 metric tons through its 1,070 rivers, Malaysia with 73,098 metric tons, while China produced 70,707 metric tons of plastic waste.

This makes Philippines the top source of plastic emission into the ocean, followed by India and Malaysia.

According to the study, more than a quarter of rivers responsible for 80% of ocean plastic pollution in the world are from PH. pic.twitter.com/zSk1BVQiBm

— Shyla Francisco (@ShylaFrancisco) June 10, 2021

“Our results indicate that countries with a relatively small land surface area compared to the length of their coastline and with high precipitation rates are more likely to emit ocean plastics,” the Dutch nonprofit said in a report published in the Sciences Advances journal in April.

“The plastic emission of these countries [is] therefore disproportionately higher compared to countries with similar MPW concentrations but different geographical and climatological conditions.”

Pasig River, spanning 27 kilometers, was heavily polluted by plastics over the past decades as the condition of the waterway worsened due to waste dumping from nearby communities and large corporations.

There were attempts to revive the river through cleanup projects by government and non-government bodies.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who had claimed the polluted Pasig River was already clean, abolished the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission in 2019, delegating its task to other government bodies.

Eighteen other Philippine rivers were also included in the top 50 list of waterways emitting plastic waste going to oceans, aside from Pasig River, including Tullahan, Zapote, Paranaque rivers, and Tambo storm drain in Metro Manila.

Seven other rivers in the main island of Luzon were also listed, namely Meycauayan, Pampanga, Libmanan, Agno, Imus rivers, Malaking Tubig, and Rio Grande de Cagayan.

Agusan River, Rio Grande de Mindanao, Iloilo River, Cagayan de Oro River, Davao River, Jalaur River, and Hamulauon River in Visayas and Mindanao were also included in the list.

Climate Change Commission, in a statement, raised serious concerns over the findings of the study, pointing out the need to promptly deal with the plastic pollution problem.

It also called on Congress to swiftly approve a measure banning the use of single-use plastic products, which could “effectively address the country’s high rate of plastic waste leakage.” It has been approved on second reading at the House of Representatives.

“This ushers [in] the start for producers to shift their dependence on the dependence on throwaway packaging models to more sustainable reuse and refill systems,” the commission said.

“The agency strongly urges the public to use alternatives and adopt workable community-based solutions to shift away from the single-use, throwaway culture that currently dominates our market.”

(Beatrice Puente/MM)

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