Gov't urges public to reduce marine trash

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The government today urged the public to reduce marine trash as the amount being collected by volunteers for the last three years has been sharply increasing.

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said he hoped fewer marine trash could be collected when the country takes part in the world' s biggest cleanup, known as the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Day, on Sept. 21.

Based on the yearly reports of the Washington-based Ocean Conservancy, Paje said the volume of ocean trash recorded by volunteers from the Philippines has doubled every year during the past three years.

The reports stated that in 2010, more than 145,000 Filipino volunteers picked up a total of 240,360 kilograms of trash. In 2011, some 114,418 volunteers recorded 485,091 kilograms, while in 2012, almost 144,000 people retrieved more than 1.3 million kilograms.

"As you can see, the number of registered volunteers has more or less remained the same, but the amount of trash they picked up in just one day has doubled alarmingly. It means more trash is making its way into our waters," Paje said.

Paje said the objective of celebrating the ICC Day was not to have the most number of volunteers, but to reduce trash in the waters.

He urged Filipinos to be mindful of where they throw their trash and not to depend on having others to clean the beaches and waterways.

Held on every third Saturday of September, the ICC Day was first celebrated in the United States in 1986. The Philippines has been an active participant in the worldwide event since 1994, consistently ranking second, next only to the United States, in having the most number of volunteers.