Environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), Inc.on Monday called for stronger policies to prevent plastic waste from reaching waterways and coastlines, saying coastal cleanups alone cannot solve the region’s waste problem.
IDIS made the call after the 2026 International Coastal Cleanup across the Davao Region collected 19,115.19 kilograms of waste from approximately 32 kilometers of coastline.
The environmental group recognized the efforts of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources 11 (DENR 11), local government units, communities, civil society organizations, the private sector, and thousands of volunteers who participated in the cleanup.
“The collection of 19,115.19 kilograms of waste from approximately 32 kilometers of coastline demonstrates both the value of collective environmental action and the continuing scale of the waste problem confronting our communities,” IDIS said.
However, the group stressed that cleanup activities should go beyond removing waste and should generate data that can guide policies addressing the sources of pollution.
DENR 11 reported that commonly collected waste included beverage bottles and cans, glass and plastic containers, foam packaging, food wrappers, and small plastic and foam fragments.
IDIS said the data should be used to identify products and packaging that repeatedly end up in the environment, trace their sources, and develop measures to prevent waste from being generated and discarded in the first place.
“Responsibility must begin upstream,” IDIS said.
IDIS also called for stronger national and local policies to reduce the production, distribution, and consumption of unnecessary and problematic single-use plastics and packaging.
The group also urged DENR to release and implement the list of Non-Environmentally Acceptable Products and Packaging (NEAPP).
IDIS further called on the City Government of Davao to strictly implement its ordinance regulating single-use plastics, saying legislation must translate into consistent enforcement and compliance among businesses and establishments.
It also urged other local government units across the Davao Region to adopt or strengthen policies regulating single-use plastics and promote reusable and refill systems.
Lawyer Mark Peñalver, executive director of IDIS, said communities should not have to repeatedly address waste only after it has entered the environment.
“Every sack of waste we remove from our coastlines is important, but we should also be asking why communities have to keep collecting the same kinds of waste year after year. Cleanups address what has already leaked into the environment. Strong regulation and waste prevention address why it gets there in the first place. We need to move beyond managing plastic waste and start reducing it at the source,” Peñalver said.
IDIS also called for stronger government support for zero-waste programs, barangay-level waste reduction and segregation, materials recovery, composting, reuse and refill systems, and initiatives involving waste workers and local communities.
The group said the participation of 6,852 volunteers shows communities are willing to help protect the environment, but responsibility should not rest mainly on citizens who are repeatedly asked to collect waste after it has already been produced, sold, consumed, and discarded.
IDIS said the 19,115.19 kilograms collected should serve as evidence that more action is needed at the source.
“The ultimate measure of progress should not be how much waste we can collect every year. It should be how much waste we prevent from being produced and entering our communities and ecosystems in the first place,” it said.
