Chevron Philippines, Inc., the marketing body behind Caltex fuels and lubricants, saw 298 of its employees, contractors, business partners, and Batangas community residents volunteering to clear Batangas’ shores at the Chevron terminal beachfront in San Pascual, Batangas.
The participants collectively filled up over 300 bags of trash, debris, and driftwood harmful to Batangas Bay’s marine life. Segregated into biodegradables, recyclables, and non-recyclable materials, the entire haul amounted to 3.5 metric tons of garbage, with 894 total man hours spent in cleaning up the Typhoon Glenda-struck area.
This is the ninth clean up CPI has organized, with each year seeing more support from its employees and the year’s benefactor community. The 2014 activity recorded the highest participation from 30 Caltex retailers and the local neighborhood which saw an additional 44 volunteers composed of security guards, tank-truck drivers, parents, and the youth.
The coastal shore’s revitalization was just in time for the seasonal nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles which congregate between September to December. The area is the only DENR-certified sanctuary for the species in the municipality. Last 2013, a nest containing 101 eggs was discovered after the clean-up. Taken care of by Chevron Batangas employees trained in pawikan handling in partnership with the DENR, 69 turtles hatched and made their way to the see a few months later.
The annual clean-up is the final activity of CPI’s yearly Week of Caring, a volunteer-dedicated week wherein CPI headquarters serve the communities they are in.