Mike Smith, an Australian environmental activist and the founder of Zero Co., took the initiative to help restore Pateros’ long-neglected polluted river, surrounded by loads of waste dumps.
“The Pateros in Manila (Philippines) is the dirtiest river I’ve ever seen. Over the last week together with @zeroco.com.au and @thehiddenseawine we removed every single piece of rubbish,” Smith stated in a Facebook post featuring a before and after photo of the river.
Smith, along with more than 240 Filipino volunteers, was able to collect more than 100,000 pieces of rubbish from the river.
“One planet. Once ocean. Let’s untrash it. Together,” Smith added.
With all this being said, Filipinos expressed their deepest gratitude to Smith for the cleanup effort, and he received appreciation and praise from people all over the world.
Meanwhile, the Pateros Municipal Government has clarified in a Facebook post that the cleaned-up river is not located in Pateros and dirty waters cannot be seen anywhere in Pateros. Instead, it is located in Barangay Rizal, under Taguig City.
“Ang ilog na tinutukoy sa FB Post ng Australian na si Mike Smith na makikita sa itaas ay hindi ninyo makikita saan man sa loob ng bayan ng Pateros,” the municipal government said on March 28.
The municipal government further added that they are conducting weekly river cleanups in different towns, specifically stating: “Tayo po ay nagsasagawa ng Lingguhang River Clean Up sa ibat ibang Barangay kayat wala po kayong makikitang ganyang karuming tubig sa loob ng ating bayan. Ang lugar na ipinapakita sa post sa itaas ay sa lugar ng Brgy Rizal na ngayon ay sakop ng Taguig City (dating Makati) sa baybay ng Taguig-Pateros River sa may boundary ng Bayan ng Pateros at Taguig City.”
“At sinumang opisyal ng bayan ng Pateros o alin man sa mga Barangay nito ay walang kinalaman sa nasabing clean up. Ang pagtukoy ni Mike Smith sa nasabing lugar na Pateros River ay hindi maliwanag at nagbibigay na pangit na impresyon sa ating bayan,” the municipal government pointed out that Smith’s post has created a negative perception of the town.
In a reel posted on March 29, Smith already tagged Taguig City as the cleanup’s location, along with indicating his heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in this project, featuring Zero Co customers who bought their zero-waste products and funded this initiative; The Hidden Sea who collected one water bottle for every wine sold, and Lyka Pet Food who also joined as their cleanup partner.
Additionally, Smith also acknowledged the agencies involved whom he worked with, namely the Taguig City Environment and Natural Resources Office, the Lake and River Management Office (LRMO), the Facilities Management Office (FMO), the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- National Capital Region Metropolitan Environment Office (MEO) West Estero Rangers, and MEO South.
According to World Bank, the Philippines, like many other rapidly developing countries, struggles with excessive plastic production and use as well as a lack of facilities to deal with solid waste management. The Philippines produces a staggering 2.7 million tons of plastic waste annually, of which 20% is thought to wind up in the ocean. The fishing, shipping, and tourism sectors, as well as the livelihoods of the coastal communities in the Philippines, which are composed of more than 7,500 islands, are particularly prone to the effects of trash from the ocean.
