Government agencies have started cleaning up the polluted Pasig River aimed at mitigating flood in Metro Manila and to attract more people to patronize the River Ferry Service operating from Manila to Pasig cities.
The Metro Manila Development Authority spearheaded the cleanup operation in close coordination with the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission after international researchers tagged Pasig River as the world’s second biggest source of plastic waste.
Researchers from The Netherlands and the United States revealed that the Pasig River is the world’s second worst contributor of plastic waste to the ocean that dumps up to 63,700 tons of plastic every year.
They added that the river is also the eight worst plastic contributors in the world.
MMDA chairman Danilo Lim attributed the problem on the presence of informal settlers living along and near the 25-kilometer river that connects Laguna de Bay and Manila Bay.
Lim said the agency's Flood Control and Sewerage Management Office personnel are now regularly declogging and clearing the river of garbage and other debris. He added his men and those coming from the local government units and PRRC used floating garbage boats in collecting the waste.
Other studies showed that 65 percent of the pollution in the Pasig River is caused by household waste, 30 percent from industrial waste, and 5 percent from solid waste coming from informal settlers living along the river.
The cleanup operation also aims to minimize the river's stench and add comfort to ferry passengers.
MMDA general manager Thomas Orbos, for his part, said the inter-agency cleanup will be a continuing effort and that other local government units have signified their desire to join the campaign.
He said despite the magnitude of the garbage problem, the MMDA is optimistic that restoring life along Pasig River is no longer far-fetched now that the government and the private sector have started to pool their efforts to revive it.
Aside from the cleanup operation, the MMDA, in partnership with the British Council and the private sector, also commissioned international and local artists to mount murals on the agency’s pumping stations visible along the Pasig River.
The project aimed to inspire residents of Metro Manila to explore the river while riding the River Ferry where they can appreciate the river’s potential and also be made aware of the challenges such as cleanliness that affect its rehabilitation.
The artists will be painting murals on eight different pumping stations along the Pasig River beginning this month up to July this year.
The project also brings attention to the pumping stations, which are often overlooked as common infrastructures in Metro Manila, but are vital facilities to address the massive flooding in the metropolis especially during the rainy season.