Youth Congress Champions Post-Consumer Waste Management

Nothing can be more of an eye opener for Filipinos than the recent flooding that devastated parts of Metro Manila and Northern Luzon. And nothing can be more of a concern now than the proper management of post consumer wastes. Who better to train then in this endeavor than the youth who will benefit from such environmental efforts initiated today?

Emerging from the tripartite partnership of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands (SCPW) and Unilever is the Conservation of Laguna de Bay’s Environment and Resources or CLEAR. The group recently convened over 70 students residing from communities that surround Laguna Lake in Tanay, Los Banos, Lumban, Pangil, Lake Bunhi and Nauian for the 4th CLEAR Youth Congress in Tanay, Rizal.

With the theme “Post-Consumer Waste Management”, the two-day event served as a venue to increase the awareness of the youth on current environmental concerns that has a grave impact on Laguna Lake, as well as to discuss other diversified forms of pollution affecting nature in general. It brought the point much closer to home given the current issues being raised regarding pollution in Pasig River and Laguna Lake that was felt during the onslaught of the typhoons. Participants of the Youth Congress were encouraged to discuss amongst themselves ways on how they can implement environmental projects in their areas and map out a plan for their future activities in support for the conservation of the environment.

The student participants were very fortunate indeed to have as keynote speaker the late Ms. Odette Alcantara who was the lead convenor of Earth Day Network Philippines and was a staunch advocate for the environment. In one of her last acts before she passed, Tita Odette, as she was fondly called in her environment circle, was able leave an important legacy to the youth when she gave a lecture on Grabology or the art and science of managing wastes as resources so that it does not become garbage.

“This experience really taught us how to think and be more aware of how people have contributed to nature’s destruction, as well as motivated us to be a solution to this problem. The program gave us a clearer perspective that encouraged us to affirm our commitment to care for and protect the environment,” said of the participants.

Since 2003, Unilever has been championing environmental awareness and action programs among the youth of Laguna de Bay’s lakeshore towns. With established partners like LLDA and SCPW, Unilever sustains the mission of creating a wide-scale advocacy among Filipinos, particularly the youth.

To date, there are more than 200 Filipino youths who have already committed to maximizing their skills to help save Laguna de Bay through joint efforts of the CLEAR partners. Unilever believes that with more initiatives like this, significant progress in solving all current environmental challenges can be achieved.