Gentle scissor snips complement the night’s sounds. It’s a.m. and most people are still asleep, but inside a modest house is a janitor on a mission. 

“I’m already up and collecting trash along our streets before dawn. I stuff what I find into handy eco-bags, then rinse them in detergent. Sometimes (when my wife’s not looking) I even add a bit of Downy so the trash smells nice,” chuckles Willie Mandanas from the municipality of Tingloy. “Once clean and dry, I cut plastic into small strips with these scissors. It’s relaxing because I can enjoy coffee and watch the morning news while working.” 

Mang Willie was an elementary school janitor for 37 years. He retired in 2021, but old habits die hard — his hands and mind constantly itched to clean places. He finally found his “retirement hobby” by helping rid his home island of waste. 

Among other solutions, Pure Oceans, a marine conservation social enterprise, pays selected program participants from Barangay Santo Tomas P20 for collecting one kilogram of shredded plastic and foil sachets. The shredded material is then used as stuffing, hewn into colorful construction panels or used to manufacture cement. Mang Willie’s new hobby helps remove and upcycle some 80 kilograms of trash while generating around P1500 every month. “It’s not big, but it’s a worthwhile way to spend my days,” he says while filling up a still-empty cardboard box with cut strips. 

The old janitor is just one of many people pitching in to combat plastic pollution in Tingloy.

Haven for marine life, but garbage magnet

Known as the birthplace of Philippine SCUBA diving with its dive sites situated closest to the capital city of Manila, “Anilao” is really a blanket term that refers to the coasts and waters of Bauan, Mabini and Tingloy in southern Batangas.  It is part of the Verde Island Passage, the center of marine shorefish diversity with over 1700 recorded marine fish species, more than any place on Earth.