CCC pushes ridge-to-reef action beyond coastal cleanups

MANILA – The Climate Change Commission said coastal cleanups must lead to sustained action against waste pollution from upland communities to the sea, following a nationwide cleanup that mobilized more than 100,000 volunteers.

The CCC commended the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local government units, participating agencies, businesses, schools, civic organizations and volunteers for joining this year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day.

According to the DENR, more than 100,000 volunteers joined cleanup activities at 369 coastal, river, waterway and underwater sites nationwide on Sept. 19, collecting more than 46 tons of waste.

“This nationwide effort shows what Filipinos can accomplish when the government, communities and businesses work together,” CCC Vice Chairperson and Executive Director Robert E.A. Borje said.

“We thank the DENR for leading and sustaining this national mobilization, and every volunteer and partner who gave time and effort to protect our waterways and coastlines.”

The CCC also underscored the role of the Department of the Interior and Local Government in working with provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays to turn public participation into stronger and more consistent local solid waste management.

Borje said the value of the cleanup must extend beyond the waste collected during a single day.

“A successful cleanup should leave more than a clean shoreline.”

“It should tell us what kinds of waste are reaching our waters, where they are coming from, and which policies, services and behaviors must change,” he said.

The DENR reported that waste collected during the cleanup was weighed, sorted and recorded by type.

The information can help identify marine litter patterns and guide waste management interventions in areas where they are most needed.

The practice of recording collected trash has long been part of International Coastal Cleanup activities, with the resulting data intended to help governments and other sectors identify sources of marine debris and develop responses.

The CCC said the data-driven approach supports President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for government to shift from reactive and proactive responses toward predictive governance.

In his 2026 State of the Nation Address, Marcos declared, “We have moved on from the reactive approach.”

“Now, we are not only proactive, but predictive as well, aided by digital tools.”

“Applied to waste management, predictive governance means using what we collect and learn today to prevent the same garbage from reaching our rivers and coastlines tomorrow,” Borje said.

“Prediction has value when it changes a decision.”

“That’s how we produce and consume, how waste is collected, where interventions are positioned, and how responsibilities are enforced.”

The CCC also recognized private-sector initiatives that link coastal protection with broader ecosystem restoration.

In Balamban, Cebu, the municipal government led coastal cleanup activities alongside the launch of CarbonPH, a restoration partnership between the Aboitiz Foundation and GCash GForest.

The five-year partnership aims to grow 1 million trees and help restore 1,200 hectares in Balamban, connecting upland restoration with river, community and coastal ecosystem protection.

“The Balamban initiative demonstrates why climate and ecosystem action must be ridge-to-reef,” Borje said.

“What happens in the uplands eventually affects our rivers and coasts.”

“Restoration, waste management, livelihoods and community participation must therefore be planned as parts of one connected system.”

The CCC said coastal cleanups must be supported by waste reduction, segregation at source, dependable collection, functioning materials recovery facilities, recycling and composting, producer responsibility, and effective enforcement of national and local policies.

Cleanup data can help the DENR, DILG and LGUs identify waste leakage hotspots, improve collection routes and schedules, strengthen barangay-level systems, and position interventions along drainage channels and rivers before garbage reaches the sea.

Businesses must also reduce unnecessary packaging and redesign products to minimize waste, while enterprises covered by the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 must comply with requirements for plastic packaging waste recovery and diversion.

Republic Act No. 11898 institutionalized extended producer responsibility for plastic packaging and requires covered large enterprises to establish programs aimed at reducing, recovering and recycling their plastic packaging waste.

Partnerships such as those involving the Aboitiz Foundation and GCash GForest show how private resources, technology and public participation can complement government and community environmental programs.

“Imagine the goal of less garbage, less time spent cleaning up, and more time for our people to enjoy, protect and draw sustainable livelihoods from our well-managed and protected coastlines,” Borje added.

International Coastal Cleanup Day is observed in the Philippines every third Saturday of September under Presidential Proclamation No. 470, series of 2003.

The Philippines has participated in the International Coastal Cleanup since 1994 and formally institutionalized the annual observance in 2003 as part of efforts to combat marine debris.

The CCC is the government’s lead policy-making body on climate change and promotes integrated and science-based approaches to ecosystem protection, community resilience and sustainable development.