Australian start-up founder Mike Smith, with some 240 Taguig volunteers, cleared over 100,000 kg. of waste in the Taguig-Pateros river in 15 days.

The project was a collaborative effort between Smith and DENR-NCR’s estero rangers, the Lake and River Management Office, the City Environment and Natural Resources Office Taguig, and the Taguig Facilities Management Office, proving that it takes a village to help our polluted waters breathe from the chokehold of plastics.

In response to claims that local agencies didn’t do their part, Francis Chua, the project manager, said, "I want to make it clear that our government did not neglect its responsibility in the cleanup project. It was an excellent example of a successful collaborative effort."

The mountains of trash consisted of water bottles, detergent sachets, and other non-biodegradable waste that takes ages to decompose.

Apart from the river, Smith’s team helped remove garbage from the San Juan River and the Tanza Marine Tree Park. According to him, his company, Zero Co, helps fund restoration efforts around trash-plagued waterways. It also recycles collected ocean waste into packaging.

“We only have one planet, one ocean, and we all share it. We all need to do our little bit to solve this problem, and it starts by using less plastic at home,” he said.

The company started its cleanup initiatives on Australian beaches, then expanded to Indonesia and Egypt, where it collected 18,000 kg. of rubbish.