

The Plastic Recovery and Recycling for Clean Coast Project concluded its "Clean and Green Competition" through an awarding ceremony at Marand Resort, Bauang, La Union, on March 17, 2023. The Clean and Green Competition aimed to encourage the LGUs and the community members to continue preserving and protecting the coastal areas by engaging the community in leading an environmentally conscious lifestyle by practicing proper solid waste management.
The contest ran for months and encouraged all 33 coastal project coastal barangays to join the Clean and Green Competition. The evaluation team, composed of members of the project technical working group (TWG), assessed the barangays by using a scorecard. The criteria were based on each of the barangays' availability of documents, ordinances, practices, plans, improvements, and activities on solid waste management.
The TWG convened last January to do the final deliberation of the barangays and identified the barangays that garnered the highest compliance with the criteria. After careful deliberation, they identified nine barangays as winners of the competition.
Below are the winners of the competition:
Champion: Brgy. Ili Sur, San Juan La Union
1st Runner Up: Brgy. Baccuit Norte, Bauang, La Union
2nd Runner Up: Brgy. Lingsat, San Fernando City.
3rd Runner Up: Brgy. Bagbag, Bauang La Union.
Brgy. Poro, San Fernando City, La Union
Consolation Prizes: Brgy. Urayong, Bauang, La Union.
Brgy. Catbangen, San Fernando City, La Union
Brgy. Urbiz Tondo, San Juan, La Union
Special Awards: Most Improved: Brgy. Santiago, Bauang, La Union.
Barangay Ili Sur, of San Juan, emerged as a champion "because of the consistency of their solid waste management activities and programs," said Ms. Corazon Sajonas, Program Manager, "Even before the project started, they have been doing their jobs, and we hope they continue to be models for the environment."
The winners of the contest received plaques of recognition, certificates, and cash prizes.