Senator Loren Legarda will keynote the four-day Second National Integrated Waste Management Exhibition, which opens on June 21,2016, 9 a.m., at the MegaTrade Halls 1 & 2 of SM Megamall, EDSA, Mandaluyong City.

Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), including the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), Climate Change Commission, National Solid Waste Management Commission, Metro Manila Development Authority and other national agencies and local government units (LGUs) as well as Chief Executive Officers and senior managers of private companies participating as exhibitors are also attending the opening day of the event.

Director Minda Osorio of the EMB-National Capital Region said, “We need to build and strengthen mechanisms of partnership and collaboration among government, LGUs, nongovernment organizations, business and industry, sectoral organizations, and organized local communities, and raise public awareness on the need to protect our environment, reduce emissions and manage waste at source, and adopt 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) towards mitigating global warming and climate change.”

“We encourage schools, colleges and universities to send their students. Let’s start them young,” lawyer and DENR Assistant Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said. DENR Secretary Ramon Paje exhorted everyone to see the Exhibition. “I am sure visitors will find this most instructive, fruitful, and truly worthwhile. I commend the organizers, exhibitors and sponsors of this Exhibition. Let us strengthen our shared responsibility in integrated waste management. Only collaboration, and greater public awareness and support can effectively address the challenges posed by improper waste management and environmental pollution,” Paje said.

The four-day Exhibition will showcase initiatives, best practices, and emerging technologies. Lectures and presentations by experts on varied subjects of interest will also be conducted. It is free and open to the public.