Environmental advocates urged Filipinos to reduce the garbage they generate and segregate trash properly during this year’s Earth Hour celebrations on Saturday, March 23.  

Angela Ibay, World Wide Fund for Nature-Philippines’ (WWF-PH) head for climate and energy programs, said that these actions would ensure that the amount of plastics that flow into the oceans is ultimately reduced. 

“People need to know that biodiversity laws are real, as well as climate change, because those are the critical challenges we face. Earth Hour has some way to do with that,” Ibay, said during the Earth Hour celebrations at the Kartilya ng Katipunan Monument in Manila. 

The Philippines ranks third, behind China and India, in mismanaged plastic waste according to the United Nations Environment Program.   

With the theme “Switch off plastic pollution, give an hour for Earth", WWF-PH collaborated with the local government of Manila for the first time to organize this year's celebration.    

Ibay added that partnerships promote awareness towards proper waste segregation through ‘The Plastic Smart City project.’ 

“Prinopromote rin namin dito ‘yung education... kasi ‘yung iba, basta may basura sama sama na lang. Dito prinopromote namin ‘yung segregation para pagdating sa mga sanitary landfill ‘yung dadalhin nalang is ‘yung mga residual," Crisanto Luague Jr. of EcoWaste Coalition, the project officer for the Plastic Smart City project, said.   

The project was launched in 2018 by the WWF-PH in support of a “no plastics in nature” agenda to mitigate plastic pollution in land and marine ecosystems and promote plastic waste management. 

The goal is to eliminate plastic waste in nature in 1000 cities by 2030 through cooperation with public and private sectors of each participating city. 

Matikas Santos, senior communications officer of WWF-PH, said that other local governments have also joined in on the initiative.  

"Urban centers also have environmental issues. Urban centers that are where a lot of waste comes from, a lot of energy is consumed,” he said. “So, by holding it within the city, then we can encourage the citizens of the city and the government of the city to come together and address those issues." 

As part of the annual tradition of Earth Hour, lights within the venue, including the Manila City Hall, were switched off from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Other attractions, including a sustainability fair and musical performances from guest performers were also held in the venue.  

About 2,000 individuals participated in the 2024 Manila Earth Hour Celebration, according to the local police.  

The global celebration of Earth Hour originated in Sydney, Australia in 2007. The celebration marks the 16th time of the Philippines to participate in the program since 2008 and first time of Manila as official partner.