In an unprecedented attendance, 7,086 registered volunteers took part in this year’s SM By the Bay Cleanup Drive.
Held in partnership with the SM Mall of Asia, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Pasay City Environment Office, ICC-PH, Maynilad, Philippine National Red Cross, Philippine Coast Guard and SM Cares, the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of SM Prime Holdings, the SM By the Bay Cleanup Drive is aimed at engaging the community in doing their share for the environment.
The volunteers, composed mostly of students from different schools and universities, started gathering as early as 4:00AM today, Saturday, September 22, 2018 at the SM By The Bay area.
The event officially started at 6:30AM, with the participants cleaning the 1.5-kilometer stretch of the Manila Bay at the SM by the Bay area, of garbage and other debris from the recent typhoon.
SM employees and young professionals also joined in the cleanup.
Perkin So, Senior Asst. Vice President for Operations of SM Supermalls said the number of participants this year is overwhelming since they only had a total of 1,066 participants last year in the cleanup drive.
“It’s overwhelming. We are truly happy with the turnout this year which is a testament to how people have now become more pro-active in caring for the environment,” So said.
At the end of the cleanup around 9:00AM, the participants were able to collect a total of 250,366 pieces of garbage, estimated at 238 cubic meters, equivalent to 238,000 kilograms of trash.
The SM by the Bay Coastal Clean-up is an annual environmental awareness event in support of the International Coastal Clean-Up day. StagePro, TRVLR, Blackbeard’s Seafood Island, Mang Inasal, TRYP Hotel by Wyndham and Philippine Airlines also supported this year’s event.
In a study conducted by Ocean Conservancy, the Philippines ranked third among the countries that are highly contributing plastic pollution in the ocean. And if water pollution will continue to rise, a lot of people and marine life risk being endangered. However, there is still time to change and leave something good for future generations.
SM by the Bay has been joining the Coastal Cleanup as a show of support to preserve our coast and waterways. The Coastal Clean-up, which is held every third Saturday of September, was created by Ocean Conservancy organization to unite everyone in giving back to mother earth.
To know more about SM by the Bay, please visit www.facebook.com/SMBYamusementPark.
