The Light Rail Manila Corp., the operator of LRT-1, has lead the clean up of Metro Manila’s longest creek, the Estero de Tripa de Gallina.
The company tapped 800 volunteers to help clean up the creek through its Live for the Rivers Movement Coalition launched last year.
“The Estero de Tripa de Gallina can no longer sustain life,” said LRMC president Rogelio Singson.
“Worse, it flows out to Manila Bay through Pasig River, thereby, contaminating the two large bodies of water that provide food for the population,” he added.
On September 16, a total of 546 volunteers, on foot and on the boats led by Singson, hauled a total of 4,172 kilogram of non-biodegradable wastes, installed 16 Vetiver grass pontoons and dropped 220 Mabuhay Balls into the creek.
Vetiver grass is used worldwide to treat effluents in wastewater.
“Over the next few months we are going to float more vetiver pontoons which will be maintained by the communities and from which they can derive livelihood from its applications in handicrafts and in preventing soil erosion,” Singson said.
The Mabuhay Ball is a tennis ball-sized agent made of beneficial micro-organisms that can break down the toxins and food waste in 1,000 liters of polluted water.
“This estero is everyone’s responsibility. We are glad to see that our efforts have set more actions from the residents who are most affected by the environmental dangers brought about by waste materials and other pollutants in the estero,” Singson said.