NAMRIA commissioned and non-commissioned officers from the hydrographic survey vessels BRP HYDROGRAPHERS PRESBITERO, VENTURA, HIZON, and PALMA joined the 2022 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) held at Lighthouse Marina Resort, Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ), Zambales on 17 September 2022. More than 200 volunteers from different government and non-government agencies, and individuals participated in the activity.

 

ICC Day is celebrated every third Saturday of September by virtue of Presidential Proclamation number 470, series of 2003. This year’s theme is Fighting for Trash-Free Seas: Pilipinas Ending the Flow of Trash at the Source.

 

The activity is also part of the celebration of the Maritime and Archipelagic Nation Awareness Month (MANA Mo) with the theme Our Seas, Our Livelihood, Our Life Source: A Whole-of-Nation Approach towards Raising Maritime and Ocean Awareness. The celebration of MANA Mo aims to raise awareness and consciousness on maritime and archipelagic issues and concerns.

 

Volunteers did not only pick up trash along the coast but also identified and recorded these in a standardized data card. The data collected globally will be used to analyze the main pollutants in marine ecosystems and to develop solutions to the growing global marine debris problem. All collected plastic trash will be fed to a recycling machine which converts these into more durable everyday items such as chairs, trash bins, planting pots, and lumber.