Championing World Environment Day, multi-sectoral groups and barangay residents in Dumangas launched an early morning stewardship campaign, kicking off the day with a municipal-wide plogging event to pick up litter while jogging.
Spearheaded by the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of Dumangas, the cleanup drive removed a total of 1.8 tons of predominantly plastic solid waste, collected from across all barangays and major thoroughfares and segregated according to types of waste. According to MENRO OIC Flosel Almirante, collected wastes will be brought to the Dumangas Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for final segregation and recovery. Recyclables including plastic bottles, cartons, and aluminum cans will be brought to the junk shops.
Building on the #WalaUsik (nothing wasted) campaign, “Dumangas must transition from a take-make-dispose approach to a circular economy to drastically reduce municipal waste,” said Nelson Nalleca, Executive Assistant to Dumangas Municipal Mayor Braedan John Biron. Dumangas currently generates .5 kilos of waste per capita daily.
Mobilizing over 1,000 individuals representing 82 groups including barangays, local government offices, civil soceity organizations, and academe institutions, the plogging event recognized outstanding groups that recovered the largest volume of trash. Barangay Balabag took top honors, receiving a cash prize and two sacks of rice for collecting the most waste at 126 kilos. Other notable awardees included Barangay Tabucan, Barangay Lacturan, Iloilo Science and Technology University - Dumangas Campus, Dumangas United Radio Communicators, and Barangay Pagdugue.
Now on its fifth year, World Environment Day serves as the launchpad for Philippine Environment Month in the municipality. The event was co-organized in partnership with the Dumangas Civil Society Organization Federation, Iloilo Provincial Government Environment and Natural Resources Office, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines.
This year’s activities are strengthened through Dumangas’ participation as one of the partner local government units under the Ph Plastics Circularity Project of UNDP Philippines with support from The Cola-Cola Foundation. Through this partnership, Dumangas benefits from technical guidance on circular economy approaches, improved plastic waste management systems, and capacity-building support for local stakeholders.
Activities lined up for the month-long event further anchor Dumangas' Circular Economy (CE) transition agenda and include a forum on CE for government employees on June 18; Recognition of Top Performing Barangays in the Basura Baylo Bugas Program and Project BJ (Bank your Junk) Top Depositors on June 26, Provincewide Tree Growing on June 27, and a Circularity Economy Forum on June 30.
Photos: Dumangas MENRO