The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will launch on Monday the “Earth Day Every Day Project” to mobilize the youth in curbing plastic pollution.
The project is a plastics collection competition among students nationwide. It aims to engage the youth on the importance of recycling plastics and to foster a culture of environmental responsibilities in line with the values of scouting.
“The Earth Day Every Day Project advocates the promotion of feasible methods to reduce waste and foster a culture of sustainability among the youth and communities, and motivates participation through incentives,” Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said in a statement.
Loyzaga will lead the event to be held in Pasay City. She is expected to sign the Pledge of Commitment for the project with SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Assistant Vice President Jessica Bianca Sy-Bell, Nestle’ Philippines, Inc. Corporate Affairs Head Senior Vice President Joey Uy, Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) Secretary General Kim Robert de Leon, and Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) National President Cristina Lim-Yuson.
On April 22, student scouts from the BSP and GSP from various schools will bring plastic items they collected, including bottles and bags, for a weigh-in at SM Mall of Asia. The class with the highest volume of plastic items will win a prize.
Students may bring the plastics they have collected to designated SM Supermalls collection facilities in the cities of Pasay, Marikina, Pasig, Manila, and Quezon City within the National Capital Region, as well as Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Cebu, and Davao.
Points will be assigned according to the type of plastic collected. Every month, prizes will be awarded to the class with the highest points, and at the end of the year, to the school with classes that accumulated the highest points.
The DENR said the project is in line with this year’s Earth Day celebration theme, Planet vs Plastic, which “calls to advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single use plastics, urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast fashion, and build a plastic-free planet for generations to come.”