BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR-CENRO), in collaboration with local government units (LGUs), has initiated a river cleanup to help prevent garbage from reaching the seas.
“We’re starting the cleanup of rivers from the very top or the head water since we know that this directly goes to larger waters, which not only affects aquatic creatures but also us, humans,” DENR-CENRO Environmental Management Bureau Administrative Assistant II, Jerome Costales, said during the cleanup activity on Tuesday.
The activity, conducted by the department once a month, will be carried out more often if the situation calls for more cleaning activities.
Costales said the present cleanup is centered on the tributaries of the Bued River, which drains towards La Union straight to the seas.
Aside from the riverbed, the ridges are also included in the cleaning activity to add to the maintenance of nature’s beauty.
He said filtration traps are being installed on small canals to filter non-biodegradable wastes, which are collected and converted into useful recycled items.
In an advisory, the DENR-CENRO called on the public to properly manage their wastes and not to dump them on the rivers.
Costales said cleaning the rivers minimize, if not prevent, the growth of coliform bacteria, and averts foul smells.
Once the ridges are cleaned, the water could be used for different purposes, he added. (Krystelle Luken Pangpangdeo, OJT/PNA)
