International Coastal Cleanup Philippines - Corregidor

The International Coastal Cleanup Philippines 2009 on Corregidor Island took place on Sunday, 20th September, not 19th September as elsewhere.


The Coastal Cleanup was part of the Kayak Explore Cavite Corregidor kayaking competition event. As you can clearly see, this Coastal Cleanup on South Beach, Corregidor Island was long overdue.


Just after sunrise first one, then a whole hoard of kayaking enthusiasts descended on the South Beach, Corregidor, to put the rubbish in its place.


There was actually too much rubbish on the beach to be collected within the time available before the kayaking race headed back to Cavite but we did our best.


The winner of the John Smart Shame Trophy for the most recognisable brand of rubbish on South Beach Corregidor Island goes to Zesto soft drinks. Shame on Zesto soft drinks for focusing more on sales of environmentally unfriendly product packaging without the corresponding focus on environmental education.


The International Coastal Cleanup Philippines of South Beach, Corregidor Island, was a day late but still a success . . . the kayaking race was late too.

Where did you do your coastal cleanup?

John

Did you have a shame trophy award also?

Actually, when I told people on Corregidor Island that the most recognizable brand of garbage was Zesto soft drinks, someone quipped that that was probably because it was the cheapest brand of soft drinks and the product appealed to the least educated, who were therefore (in his determination) more likely to use the oceans as a garbage tip.

Our kayaking event terminated at the Caylabne Bay Resort, Cavite, on Sunday afternoon. There, the children of the more wealthy and privileged were playing in and around the ocean, dutifully cleaned throughout the hours of daylight by paid beach / water cleaners. However, the kids of these more wealthy and privileged (and therefore presumably better educated) were observed to also discard (in the absence of Zesto soft drinks) plastic cups, candy wrappers and others into the ocean just the same as their least educated cousins.

The problem of the pollution of our waterways, bays and rivers is one of education but it has little to do with the quantity or cost of education, rather the type of education and the role models set by adults - as one beautifully polished SUV pulled out of the Caylabne Bay Resort car park, the arguably better educated person in the driving seat, resplendent in his silk Hawaiian shirt and gleaming Rolex (it may have been a copy) opened his window and discharged a plastic cup and straw onto the grass verge, presumably comforted by the expectation that someone was paid to cleanup after him.

John

P.S. This was my first return visit to Caylabne Bay Resort for about four years, I was intrigued to observe that during my absence the management's least-maintenance-as-possible policy was still in force - accelerated some areas.