The PlastiCount Pilipinas team completed the third stage of its training program held at the Bolinao Marine Laboratory from September 29 - October 7, 2022. This stage focused on hands-on application of the previous lectures conducted during Stage 2 held last September 5.
The first day of the training program had participants experience immersive fieldwork training to better prepare them to work on their respective case studies. For the first half of the day, the group traveled by boat to the waters of Brgy. Lucero in Santiago Island to collect water samples though grab sampling with glass jars and towing with a plankton net. Air contamination procedures were also observed to eliminate any airborne particles that can affect the microplastic count in the collected samples. The second half of the day was devoted to conducting macroplastics surveys and sediment sampling along Patar Beach.
After field day, the participants processed their water and sediment samples at the Microplastics Quantification, Identification and Biodegradation Facility or MicroQuIB. The samples undergo the density separation process to separate microplastics from the rest of the substrate. After processing,the samples were subjected to Nile Red staining which makes microplastics fluoresce under a blue light, making them easily quantifiable. The microplastics training session was facilitated by Mr. Ramgem Luzadas, with the assistance of Mr. Kim John Balboa, Mr. Danielle Bonita and Mr. Mark Prudente.
For the macroplastics sessions, participants were tasked to encode their macroplastics survey results for upload to the PlastiCount website. This was followed by drone training for automated macroplastics survey and lectures on artificial intelligence for automated quantification. This session was facilitated by Dr. Paul Samuel Ignacio, Mr. Lance Licnachan and Engr. Ricardo Alindayu.
Through the conduct of Stage 3, the PlastiCount Pilipinas Training Program participants are given hands-on experience to be able to apply the procedures and techniques they learned. This shall serve as their foundation for conducting their own case studies in the next stage of the training program, and eventually towards technology transfer and re-echoing to their own agencies.
This training program was attended by representatives from the Philippine Coast Guard - Marine Environmental Protection Command (PCG-MEPCOM), Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB), the Toxic and Hazardous Wastes Research, Development and Extension Center (THWRDEC) and the Watershed and Water Resources Research, Development and Extension Center (WWRRDEC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB).
