While I was invited to attend the two-day Plastic Waste Solutions Summit, which is set to wrap up to in Bayawan City, Negros Oriental today and conducted in line with the Sea Waste Education to Eradicate Plastic (SWEEP) initiative, I was unable to attend due to my schedule, but I did promise organizer Dave Albao that I would cover the subject in my column.

The summit involved local officials, along with community and project partners, and reviewed plans and solutions for combating the issue of marine plastics. The event was also held to discuss SWEEP research and launch a mobile museum.

The gathering also sought the commitment of participants, particularly elected officials, to work together in finding solutions, which was done through a declaration of commitment signing.

Various activities took place, such as clean-up projects; along with discussions on waste audit research findings, “Wala Usik” conservation and a circular economy, the best solid waste management practices conducted in Bayawan City and Sipalay City, managing municipal waste in a fourth-class municipality, the business case of plastic waste, among other topics.

In addition, there were several speakers and presenters at the event covering a range of important subjects. Merci Ferrer of the Negros Oriental-based War on Waste spoke on the citizens’ campaign for plastic regulation, Potrero United Youth Organization founder Khate Nolasco talked about youth and community development for solid waste management, Bea Crisostomo of Enterpreneur discussed zero-waste enterprise, and Hamsa Earth Conscious Collections curators Angel Rodriguez and Kat Salimbugat explained the role of resuables in reducing plastic; while Philippine Reef and Rainforest Conservation Foundation Inc. (PRRCFI) officers served as presenters, including Executive Director Dave Albao, Vice President for Community Development Sef Alba Carandang, and Vice President for Conservation, Science, and Research Kaila Ledesma Trebol.

Bayawan City and Sipalay City Environment and Natural Resources Offices also participated in the summit.

The event was made possible by the United States Agency for International Development, PRRCFI, the Negros Occidental Environment Management Office, and the Bayawan City government./WDJ