Divers in the Philippines pulled plastic bags, drink bottles and fishing nets from a coral reef on Saturday, joining an annual cleanup that aims to highlight the impact of waste on the world’s oceans.
About a dozen divers cleaned garbage from the reef and surrounding beaches, marking World Cleanup Day in Batangas province, a popular spot for snorkeling and diving south of the capital Manila.
“Every fishing line or net you remove, you can actually prevent a turtle from dying or getting caught in it or eating a plastic bag,” organizer Carmella Sevilla told Reuters, holding a mesh bag full of garbage Happened.
The Philippines, an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands with approximately 36,300 km (22,555 mi) of coastline, is one of the world’s most marine resource-rich countries.
But campaigners say the neglect of local authorities and lax enforcement of environmental laws threatens its marine resources.
One of the participants in the cleanup, Haley Osbourne, a 35-year-old Canadian who has lived in the Philippines for five years, said all divers should do their bit by picking up any debris that comes under the water.
Most of the plastic waste littering the world’s oceans comes from rivers and beaches.
According to a 2021 report by Our World in Data, a scientific online publication, 81% of the total is estimated to come from Asia, with a third of Asian plastic originating in the Philippines.
World Cleanliness Day is celebrated every year on the third Saturday of September.
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