Philippine 'river warriors' fight tide of trash for cleaner waters

MANILA • Each morning, a group of Filipinos rake up piles of trash on the banks of one of the world's most polluted rivers, filling sacks in an endless pursuit to clean a waterway that is also a major source of ocean plastics.

These "river warriors" are a decade-old group of about 100 people who work to clear the glut of garbage floating or washed up along Manila's notorious Pasig River.

The 27km river cutting through the Philippine capital was once a vital trade route. But urbanisation and poor sewage planning have left the river all but dead.

"There's never a time without garbage here. It's unlimited," said Ms Angelita Imperio, who has been a river warrior for six years.

The warriors wear rubber boots and elbow-length gloves, using rakes and handmade tools to scoop rubbish from stagnant waters in different locations.

The warriors started off as volunteers but now receive a basic income from a local government and operate in small groups at different parts of the river.

Ms Dexter Opiana, another river warrior with six years of service, said she and about 19 others work shifts of about seven hours and collect an average of 80 to 100 sacks a day, more during monsoon season.

Most of it are plastic wrappers, single-use sachets and packaging materials. Since the pandemic began, surgical face masks are sometimes mixed in among the floating garbage.

A 2021 report by Oxford University's Our World In Data estimated that 81 per cent of global ocean plastic comes from Asian rivers and the Philippines alone contributes a third of that total.

The Pasig River alone provides up to 6.43 per cent of ocean plastic originating from rivers, said the report.

REUTERS

The 27km river cutting through the Philippine capital was once a vital trade route. But urbanisation and poor sewage planning have left the river all but dead.