Treasures buried in the white sand of Long Beach, Palawan

The longest white beach in the Philippines, Long Beach in San Vicente, Palawan, is approximately 14.7 kilometers of natural white sand and few rocky cliffs. In the past, coconut leaves and empty husk of the coconut are the primary garbage buried in the sand or scattered along the shoreline. Those trash are classified as biodegradable and they decompose naturally or local residents use them as firewood. 

The undeveloped shoreline is now slowly evolving similar to Boracay Beach. Numerous beach resorts are now operating and inviting more tourists to visit and have fun. As of now, there are over 50 tourism establishments such as hotels and inns in the municipality which provides accommodation to the local and foreign tourists according to Agoda. Similar to other beaches in the country, Long beach can be next Boracay (pre-rehabilitation) in terms of pollution and trash buried in the white sand. 

Residents and the local barangay unit who genuinely care for the place are doing a clean up drive thrice a year or if they see that it needs cleaning. Plastics are everywhere and they live longer than the average human lifespan. Popular plastic products we used such as plastic bottles for instance require approximately 450 years to decompose in a landfill. Improper treatment of this kind of trash may lead to plastic bottles stranded in the beaches then into the ocean. 

According to Ocean Conservancy; ICC report of 2018, the following items are top ten items collected in the beaches around the world; cigarette butts (1); food wrappers (2); plastic beverage bottles (3); plastic bottle caps (4); plastic grocery bags (5); other plastic bags (6); straws, stirrers (7); plastic take out/away containers (8); plastic lids (9); foam take out/away containers (10). The items collected in the beaches mostly made their way to our beaches then the ocean through human activities along the coastlines and far inland. For example, we unintentionally forgot to dispose of our trash properly and empty pesticide bottles, specifically those food wrappers, after a heavy storm the water will carry those trash into the sewage or rivers leading to the ocean. 

According to the study of NOAA, it is called nonpoint source of pollution and the other one is called point source pollution, for example the discharge of any factories or sewage treatment plants. 

Some factories discharge their effluents directly into a creek or river. In present, there are no factories in the municipality; the possibility of nasty discharges directly to any creek or river is zero percent but nonpoint source pollution will likely to happen given that the province of Palawan has tropical rainforest climate, it is usually very warm, humid, and rainy all year round. 

The following are the impacts of mismanaged trash according to NOAA, economic loss, habitat damage, wildlife entanglement and ghost fishing, ingestion of plastic debris, vessel damage and navigation hazards, and alien species transport. 

According to the report of Ocean Conservancy, Philippines is the world’s third-largest ocean polluter approximately 2.7 million metric tons of plastic is generated in our country and 20 percent of the waste is end up on the ocean although our country has a high garbage collection rate among south east Asian countries with a national average of 85 percent. Furthermore, high concentration of plastic waste on the ocean can cause disease outbreaks on the coral reefs and damage to marine habitats and its inhabitants. 

Now, the municipality is getting recognition as a center for tourism. Slowly emerging as one of the tourism hot spots in the Philippines. All people in every barangays are required to be part of the coastal clean-up especially the youth. The barangay officials and its constituents are tasked to clean the portion of the long beach which is under their jurisdiction. The municipality has MRF (Material Recovery Facility) in every barangay. 

According to RA 9003 section 32, establishment of MRF in every barangay or cluster of barangays mandated by the law. The facility shall be established in a barangay-owned or leased land or any suitable open space to be determined by the barangay through its Sanggunian. 

Architect Felino A. Palafox, Jr. said, “the public should actively participate and learn from the best and most effective practices. As they always say, cleanliness starts with one’s own home; practicing to segregate our waste can go a long way towards preserving our planet.”

This article was written by Ryan Kenneth Nangit from Palawan as a final requirement of AYEJ.org and the US Embassy’s “Green Beat Islas: An Online Environmental Journalism Training.“

Featured photo from thepoortraveler.net