Bohol partners with UP, BISU to fight plastic pollution via mobile app

The Provincial Government of Bohol has partnered with state academic institutions to roll out a specialized mobile application aimed at tracking plastic pollution across the island province.

Bohol Governor Erico Aristotle Aumentado, University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman Chancellor Edgardo Carlo Vistan III, and Bohol Island State University President Dr. Anthony Penaso signed a memorandum of agreement on July 31, 2026, to formalize the initiative.

The agreement establishes the institutional adoption of the “PlastiZen Basura Patroller” app by the Bohol Provincial Environmental Management Office to map waste through anonymous, geotagged photo submissions.

Co-implemented by UP Baguio and funded by the Department of Science and Technology, the recently launched application enables citizens to report litter locations and concentrations in real time.

Data collected through the platform flows into PlastiCount Pilipinas, an open-source analytical database established in 2022 that utilizes artificial intelligence to track microplastic and macroplastic trends in Southeast Asia.

UP Diliman will handle technology transfer, technical guidance, and data storage for the project, while local agencies and BISU will design outreach programs and formulate data-driven policy recommendations.

Provincial officials expect the crowd-sourced spatial data to optimize waste management workflows, target cleanup operations, and prevent marine litter leakage into sensitive coastal ecosystems.

Organizers noted that citizen-led pollution reporting directly supports the Philippines’ national objective of eliminating plastic waste from domestic waters by 2040.