On August 09, 2022, a turn-over ceremony was conducted in the Barangay Hall of Santiago, Sto. Tomas City. The activity was attended by City Mayor Atty. Arth Jhun A. Marasigan with the presence of DENR CENRO Lipa staff and personnel headed by CENR Officer Allan Willard Estillore together with Senior EMS/Focal of MBSCMO-Batangas Josefa Lozada, PMFTC Personnel headed by its Operations Director Nikolas Sovlakis together with EHS/Sustainability Manager Estrella Raquin and Barangay Officials headed by Barangay Captain Aniceta Marasigan.

It was highlighted during the ceremony the importance of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in conservation and protection of our environment. Acceptance of responsibilities in terms of waste collection was accommodated by LGU of Sto. Tomas thru its’ City Environment Officer and Natural Resources Office headed by Mr. Eric Velasco.

The litter boom was installed in Munting River traversing Brgy. Santiago, Sto. Tomas City leading to San Juan River. It is funded and initiated by Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation (PMFTC) Inc. through their partner NGO/grantee, Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, Inc. (JVOFI), in collaboration with CENRO Lipa.

The Litter Boom is a structure/device consisting of a partly submerged floating boom positioned in a waterway designed to capture highly buoyant and visible pollutants/litter before it flows farther downstream by using the current to guide debris into the trap. This infrastructure continuously operates without any mechanical assistance to capture floating litter. Installation of the litter boom was monitored and inspected by MBSCMO Staff. It was noted that they have also installed a fixed steel ladder as an access going down the river during cleanup and maintenance of the litter boom.