Some 1,216 kilos of garbage’s were collected by mountain climbers who volunteered to conduct a three-day clean up at the Mount Apo’s Lake Venado which ended Thursday. The climbers were members of mountaineering clubs in the towns of Makilala, Magpet and this city.
A total of 59 sacks of garbage were collected and composed of plastic, bottles, cigarette butts, sanitary napkins, candy and biscuit wrappers, straws and medicine foils.
Marie Fe Pame, chief of the city investment and promotion center, said the volume of garbage collected this year has decreased compared to the 3,000 kilos that were collected during the 2006 October climb.
Pame attributed the decrease to awareness of the climbers which she claimed was influenced largely by the city government campaign on the preservation of Mount Apo.
Pame said all climbers passing the Kidapawan, Makilala and Magpet trails were advised not to leave their trash in the mountain.
“We are happy that there are climbers who are already responsible in bringing down from the mountain their rubbish. This is because the city government has always reminded our climbers during briefing prior to the climb,” Pame said.
Pame said hundreds of volunteers of Mt. Apo Foundation Inc., (MAFI), Alpha Phi Omega (APO), Camp Apo, Mount Apo Tribal Youth Organization and 4B’s CADT of Makilala joined the clean up drive.
The post Mount Apo clean up drive was a requirement of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) before conducting the scheduled October trek this year.