ASEANO Project Report: Social Implications of Plastic Pollution Mitigation Initiatives Along the Imus River

This study investigates the socioeconomic implications of plastic waste pollution mitigation initiatives near the Imus River, which traverses through the province of Cavite. It explores initiatives identified by the communities on plastic waste management and consequently examines how these initiatives are managed and implemented. It also describes the communities’ culturally nuanced understanding of plastic waste management, as well as the implications of such management to Cavite residents. The data is gathered from five sites traversed by the Imus River, in selected barangays in (upstream to downstream) Silang, Dasmariñas, Imus, Bacoor, and Kawit. The methods used were concurrent triangulation of quantitative and qualitative data, a survey of 300 residents, and in-depth interviews of 20 key informants from different sectors in the community. Other sources of data, i.e., local documents, online and on-site focus group discussions (FGDs), and direct observations complemented the survey results.