'Sea' is for Cleanliness
Garbage accumulation due to improper disposal of domestic and industrial waste is one of the growing problems of our society. Garbage pollutes the air we breathe, contaminates our fresh water sources, kills the creatures that dwell in the river, and disturbs the natural habitat of those living in the sea. All in all, it destroys the natural beauty of our mother nature.
Garbage accumulation is directly proportional to the growing human population. Garbage is a problem that cannot be eliminated, however, its effect can be minimized if proper waste management and disposal will be strictly implemented by the government and will strictly be followed by the people.
The shore of Albay Gulf is one of the famous landmarks in Legazpi City. Many people love to visit this place for its gentle sea breeze or just to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Conversely, these past few months garbage was observed accumulating along the shore, resulting to an ugly view that masks the beauty of the place. How can visitors enjoy its beauty if every time the waves hit the shore, plastic bottles and other wastes float and are carried by the current? Also, every time the wind blows, a foul odor fills the air.
There could be several causes of the garbage accumulation along there, but the more obvious reasons are the illegal dumping of garbage by the community in the rivers nearby and the undisciplined visitors who left their garbage on the shore. When the garbage is thrown in the river, the river carries with it the garbage into the sea and the sea current washes off the garbage in the shoreline. Perennial flooding also carries the garbage littered in the streets to the sea.
We have the “solid waste management act”, a law that tells us how to dispose the garbage properly. Aside from this law each municipality/city has its own version of ordinances on waste segregation and designates proper places where we can put our garbage so that garbage collectors can easily collect them. Strict implementation of this law and ordinances by the concerned government agencies is one of the solutions, but a disciplined citizen who obeys the law is a better one. Another solution is assigning maintenance personnel by the city of Legazpi that will maintain the cleanliness of the seaside. Another possible option is putting signages that will remind every visitor to dispose their garbage properly.
If the deepening situation and condition of the waters that surround us are not given concern or solution, it will surely quickly destroy other nature’s ecosystem and environment. Do we still have to wait for the problem to continue to worsen? The time to act is now. Every bag of garbage that accumulates at that beautiful seaside makes the place less appealing to the visitors. Do the local government only wait for someone to feature this on the news or upload it on the internet before they act to solve the problem? This problem obviously can blemish the good image of the city, and can have an indirect effect to the Ecotourism the city strongly promotes.
A highly civilized community can be measured on how it properly dispose its garbage and on how it highly takes care of its environment. A plastic bottle should contain water, not the other way around.
