2019 is the 12th year of Earth Hour but it is also the second year of its #Connect2Earth global theme which calls for an urgent need to care for the Earth’s biological diversity. Central to this theme is the continuing focus on the issue of single-use plastics.
What began in 2008 in Manila (Earth Hour first started in Sydney in 2007) as a campaign to create awareness of climate change has evolved into the world’s grassroots movement to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity as a viable resource link that families, communities, nations, and future generations all depend upon.
(L-R) WWF-Philippines President and CEO Joel Palma, AIS Development Executive of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines Yasser Sarona, WWF-Philippines Climate and Energy Program Head and Earth Hour Pilipinas National Director Atty. Gia Ibay, WWF-Philippines National Ambassador Iza Calzado, WWF-Philippines National Youth Ambassador Janine Gutierrez, and WWF-Philippines National Ambassador Rovilson Fernandez. Photograph courtesy of Alo Lantin / WWF-Philippines
It also does not help that plastics proliferate, especially here in the Philippines, due to the ‘tingi’ (sachet) concept where products are repackaged into one-time use plastic sachets for convenience, sanitation, and affordability by the less fortunate.
Recently, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Philippines, together with Ayala Malls and other partner corporations, officially launched #AyokoNgPlastik — a movement that hopes to address these alarming facts by bringing together companies, individuals, and other sectors to minimize and eventually eradicate single-use plastics such as straws, bags, bottles, and caps by refusing to use them.
WWF-Philippines National Ambassadors Marc Nelson and Rovilson Fernandez with WWF Next Generation Council member, Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi
