SBMA, Lighthouse Marina gear up for coastal cleanup

In keeping with their commitment for the protection of the environment, The Lighthouse Marina Resort in coordination with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will be mobilizing their networks in the community for a coastal cleanup activity on September 17.

The event, which will coincide with this year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day, will be held at the Waterfront area in this free port.

The Lighthouse Marina Resort and the SBMA have partnered in the past few years for beach cleanup drives in an effort to promote environmental consciousness among residents and business locators here.

For this year, the SBMA will again mobilize participants from among its various strategic business units, said SBMA Administrator Armand Arreza. The agency has pledged at least 200 participants, including divers, to cover the SBMA-assigned area, stretching more than two kilometers from Alava Pier to the end of the Boardwalk Park.

Also part of the SBMA's commitment to the activity is to assist the organizers through its Ecology Department in the segregation of collected trash and proper data recording.
The agency will likewise urge employees from business locators, as well as students in Freeport schools and fisher folks to join the activity, Arreza added.

Organizers from The Lighthouse Marina Resort, meanwhile, said that those who would like to join the beach cleanup will need to register before September 15. Registration is free.

Participants will have to assemble at 6:00 a.m. at the Boardwalk Park area and form groups of five before going to the stations that will be designated by the organizers.

The cleanup drive will cover the area stretching from Boardwalk Park up to the Lighthouse beachfront.

The International Coastal Cleanup Day was started in 1986 in Texas by former Ocean Conservancy employee Linda Maraniss. It is being observed every third Saturday of September each year, with thousands of volunteers around the world joining to clean coastlines and seas.

During the cleanup at Subic last year, close to 4,000 residents, employees, students and visitors joined the activity and collected about 6,075 kilos of trash, including those collected from underwater dives.

This year’s event is supported by the Subic Bay Freeport Chamber of Commerce, the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians, and the Ocean Conservancy, a non profit advocacy group that promotes healthy and diverse ecosystems. (SBMA Corporate Communications)