PH Embassy Welcomes Inclusion of Manila in Ocean Cleanup's 30 Cities Program

(L-R) Mr. Monty Simus, Ms. Gabriela Alvarez, Ms. Nadhira Sagita Putri, Ambassador Malaya, Ms. Rosa Heuveling van Beek, and Ms. Thaine Assumpcao

THE HAGUE 04 November 2025 - Philippine Ambassador to the Netherlands J. Eduardo Malaya welcomed the inclusion of Manila in the 30 Cities Program of The Ocean Cleanup (TOC), the Rotterdam-based non-profit research and technology organization that is leading efforts to reduce plastics pollution in the world’s oceans.

At the diplomatic briefing organized by the TOC Thursday, 30 October, at the Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague, where he was the featured speaker, Ambassador Malaya said that the Embassy is pleased that The Ocean Clean Up is “bringing its science-based solutions and impactful programs to the Philippines.”

“We look forward to the finalization of arrangements with Philippine agencies, and hope to see soon the deployment of TOC Interceptors in the Pasig and Meycauayan Rivers and their tributaries that will reduce plastic garbage wastes in said rivers, improving water quality and aquatic life, and reduce plastic pollution in the Manila Bay,” said the Ambassador.

Through the Embassy’s initial introduction, TOC is currently engaged with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Municipality of Meycauayan (Bulacan) on plans to capture plastic pollution in the Pasig and Meycauayan Rivers. TOC is doing preliminary desk research and data analysis on Manila and also Cebu to identify technology solutions for specific river sites. The company Energies PH assisted TOC in the early phases of engagements.

The Philippines faces severe plastic pollution, being one of the largest contributors to oceanic plastic waste globally. The country generates millions of tons of plastic waste annually (around 2.7 million tons), with much of these entering the marine environment and around 20% to the oceans, due to insufficient recycling and waste management systems. Plastic wastes destroy fragile ecosystems, negatively impact human and animal health, contribute to climate warming, and worsen natural disasters, such as flooding.

The Ocean Cleanup’s 30 Cities Program seeks to scale the organization’s proven Interceptor™ solutions across 30 key cities in Asia and the Americas, aiming to eliminate up to one third of all plastics flowing from the world’s rivers into the ocean before the end of the decade. TOC launched the program at the UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France last June. The Ocean Cleanup is currently cleaning up with its Interceptors the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, an accumulation zone with over 100 million kilograms of floating plastic in the Pacific Ocean.

Malaya noted that a particular cause of plastic pollution in the Philippines is the high consumption of single-use plastics, particularly sachets or small packaging containing shampoos, hair conditioners, coffees, food sauces and other products which, according to studies, altogether are responsible for about three-fourths of the collected household waste in the Philippines, which can neither be composted nor recycled. The Ambassador called for alternative, environmentally sustainable packagings for these products, and also urged the use of paper grocery bags, instead of plastic ones which take years to degrade.

Malaya cited the Philippines’ various efforts to address plastic pollution from the national to the local levels, including the enactment of the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act (RA 9003) and the Extended Producer Responsibility Act of 2022 (RA 11898), issuance of environmentally friendly local ordinances, and implemention of community-led initiatives. The Department of Foreign Affairs is also actively supporting the early conclusion of the proposed Global Plastic Treaty with ambitious targets to drastically reduce the use of plastics.

The diplomatic briefing provided information on the TOC’s various projects  and its 30 Cities Programme, with presentations by River Survey Engineer Thaine Assumpcao on data driven cleanup and how AI can help monitor plastic pollution; Senior Environmental Manager Gabriela Alvarez on community engagement and maximizing social and environmental impacts; Waste Manager Nadhira Sagita Putri on sustainable waste management post-clean up; and Global Director of Public Affairs, Policy and Blue Finance Mr. Monty Simus, who visited Manila recently, on their outreach to governments and other stakeholders in ocean governance and blue economy. Ms. Rosa Heuveling van Beek, TOC’s Global Public Affairs Specialist, facilitated the discussions.

Established in 2013 by Dutch inventor and entrepreneur Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup’s main mission and advocacy is to reduce plastics pollution in the world’s oceans and ancillary to this is to support efforts to intercept and remove plastics from rivers that could end up in oceans, using its various interceptor technologies. It has active operations in eight countries across the globe, including Viet Nam, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia (https://theoceancleanup.com/). END

Photo Credit: An Ocean Cleanup Interceptor in a Caribbean country

Ambassador J. Eduardo Malaya

For more information, visit https://www.thehaguepe.dfa.gov.ph https://twitter.com/PHinTheHague or https://www.facebook.com/PHinTheNetherlands/.