Earth Day Every Day Project, a plastics collection competition among students, will be launched by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) during the celebration of Earth Day on Monday, April 22.

In a statement released on Saturday, April 20, the DENR said the project seeks to instill in young people the significance of recycling plastics and to promote an environmental consciousness consistent with scouting values.

The environment department said student scouts from the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) and Girl Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) from various schools will bring the plastic items they collected including plastic bottles and plastic bags for a weigh-in at SM Mall of Asia.

“The class with the highest volume of plastic items will win a prize,” the agency said.

The DENR said students can bring the plastics they have gathered to specially designated SM Supermalls collection sites in Bulacan, Pampanga, Cavite, Cebu, and Davao, as well as in the towns of Pasay, Marikina, Pasig, Manila, and Quezon City for the National Capital Region.

“Points will be assigned according to the type of plastic collected. Every month, prizes will be awarded to the class with the highest points, and at the end of the year, to the school with the highest-pointer classes,” it noted.
 
Environment Secretary Maria Antonia “Toni” Yulo-Loyzaga will be accompanied by SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, and SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Jessica Bianca Sy-Bell serves as Assistant Vice President at Nestle Philippines, Inc. Corporate Affairs Head Senior Vice President Joey Uy, BSP Secretary General Kim Robert de Leon, and GSP National President Cristina Lim-Yuson in signing the Pledge of Commitment for the project, which will take place in Pasay City.
 
According to Loyzaga, the Earth Day Every Day Project promotes viable strategies for reducing waste and instilling a culture of sustainability in children and communities, and encourages involvement through incentives.

The DENR chief  thanked Nestle, SM Supermalls, and the Boy and Girl Scouts of the Philippines for their “invaluable support and collaboration.”

“Their robust presence and proactive engagement will serve as a multiplier effect in our advocacy efforts,” she said in a statement.

The DENR pushes for a circular economy, which allows for a lower greenhouse gas emissions plastic economy while allowing all plastic applications to be recycled, reused, and sustainably managed both during and after use, as a means of combating plastic pollution in the nation.

The project, per the DENR, is consistent with the Earth Day celebration theme for this year, Planet vs. Plastic, which is to "demand an end to fast fashion, advocate for widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single-use plastics, and urgently push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution."

Earth Day is a global celebration held on April 22nd every year to show support for environmental conservation.

It intends to increase public knowledge of environmental problems such pollution, deforestation, climate change, and conservation while encouraging solutions to these problems.