SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is bringing to Subic a new way of boosting both human and nature’s health—“plogging.”

SBMA Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma said plogging, a term that blends the English word “jogging” and the Swedish phrase “plocka upp” or pick up, is now becoming popular in parts of Europe and the United States.

“Essentially, plogging is about doing your regular jogging routine, but you have to bring with you a trash bag where you can put all the litter you can pick up along the way,” Eisma explained.

She added the SBMA will stage the first Subic Bay Plog Down—a combination of jogging, fun run and picking litter, on May 4 at the Boardwalk Events Center here in line with its “War On Waste” program.

The event is open to the public aged seven years old and above.

SBMA Ecology Center manager Amethya Dela Llana explained that Subic Bay Plog Down aims to promote plogging as an exercise that promotes endurance, muscle firmness and harmony, and to stimulate environmental understanding by encouraging communities to suggest solutions on reducing trash in the Freeport.

“Plog Down aims to evoke environmental malasakit by exposing nearby communities to Subic Bay Freeport clean-up,” Dela Llana said.

Under the Plog Down project, all registered participants would pick up trash along their chosen route.

Trash placed in the sacks should only be those considered as litter under the No Littering Policy of the SBMA. All trash thus collected by individual participants will be weighed and recorded.

RECYCLABLES
Coinciding with the Plog Down event, SBMA will celebrate Earth Day 2018 with the theme “End Plastic Pollution” through the conduct of the 4th Recyclables Collection Event (RCE), also on May 4 at the former Legenda Blue Building along the Boardwalk Area.

RCE is a semi-annual event that lets companies inside the Freeport dispose of everyday hazardous workplace wastes properly. Items brought to the event will be bought by accredited recyclers.

Some of the waste materials that can be submitted for collection during the event are laboratory chemicals, solvents, aerosols, batteries, fluorescent tubes, garage waste, household hazardous waste, oils, paints, pharmaceutical waste and photographic and printing waste.

The waste collectors would also accept electronic wastes such as busted washing machines, electric fans, and ovens.

Proceeds of the event will go to Lingkod Kapamilya Bantay Kalikasan ABS-CBN Foundation, which has community-based eco-tourism projects. Meanwhile, the PET bottles collected will be sent to the Tahanang Walang Hagdan.