by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada
- 52 kg (115 lbs) shoreline waste and 34.25 kg (76 lbs) underwater waste collected
- Storm drain waste of plastic bottles, paper bags and cans possibly from neighbouring communities
Within 2 hours of the clean-up activity to mark International Coastal Clean-up, over 80 kg (176 lbs) of land and ocean waste was removed.
The clean-up drive organised by the Grenada Chapter of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN) together with Education, Conservation and Outreach (ECO) is all part of a global campaign to protect the coastal and marine environments from indiscriminately discarded waste. Both environmental groups consist of volunteers who devote their time to undertake the clean-up on 15 September 2018 on the Grand Anse Beach. The groups were divided into teams; one to collect trash found on the shoreline and the other team mobilised a team of scuba divers to clean the ocean floor.
Public Relations Officer for the ECO Reene Smith led the scuba divers. “We did the dive along the Grand Anse beach near the storm drain outside the Radisson Beach Resort and we found a ton of garbage consisting of plastic bottles, paper bags and cans. It is very worrying to see to see how much wastes are discarded in our oceans and I personally think that the waste was carried down to the storm drain from the neighbouring communities.”
The clean-up is part of Ocean Conservancy’s larger strategy to rid the ocean of waste and it is among organisations in the fight to find answers and offer solutions to address the existing of indiscriminate dumping of waste into the ocean.
Smith says the information will be sent to the Ocean Conservancy for analysis. “We sort and document and upload the information so that other agencies can have access to the data and can sensitise the public on how many wastes if being deposited into the ocean and what can be done to alleviate the problem.”
Glenelg Natural Spring Water also partnered with both environmental groups in the fight to against ocean pollution.
Brand Manager of Glenelg, Renisha Joseph spoke of her company’s role in this regard. “It is something that we feel very passionate about, our company is all about protecting the environment and we will continue to play our part in assisting groups where we can to ensure that we protect our environment.”
Approximately 52 kg (115 lbs) of waste was collected on the shoreline and 34.25 kg (76 lbs) collected underwater.
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