Odette Alcantara, a 65-year-old grandmother in the Philippines, is the founder of the Mother Earth Network, a group that brings environmental workers together to counter pollution. Her crusade was borne of a personal experience.

"When my first grandson was having asthma attacks, I learned from Dr. Flavier, it's air pollution that causes asthma attacks and other pulmonary-related diseases. It was my love for my grandson that drove me to protect him from air pollution."

Alcantara's main point of contention is trash build-up in Manila.

Figures from the Philippine government put the garbage produced by Manila's ten million residents at 6,000 tons a day, with the majority of waste going directly to landfills in towns outside the city.

Alcantara believes that amount can be reduced to 20 percent, or even zero, if the government implements a new, specific law.
The proposed law mandates that each village should have a facility for composting and collecting "wet" waste, and that each household separate its own garbage.

Alcantara explains how rubbish can become a thing of the past.

"If you don't mix the two general types, biodegradable waste and non-biodegradable, you'll have no garbage. You will only have compostables and recyclables. So there has to be a shift in mindset."

Tuesday's Earth Day celebrations are focused on the theme of water. Alcantara believes the main problem affecting water is waste that finds its way back into major bodies of water.

"The Philippines is all bodies of water, so I think it's a right smack in our situation that we work on water. Water is trans-boundary, and we can pollute the planet's water with our waste, with our garbage. So garbage is one particular concern that I see affects us all."