Post-Summer Cleanup: Tackling Coastal and Marine Plastic Pollution

Summer is coming to an end. Tourists enjoyed their holidays on the beach and take home their beautiful memories. What is left behind, however, is tons of trash on beaches. The same applies to lakeshores, riverbanks, city parks, and streets.

Beach cleanups are widespread around the world. They are community-based and community lead or local authority lead. People offer their time and get together in order to help remove litter on the beach that can easily find its way into the ocean. They ensure well-being of marine life and human communities alike.

Beach cleanups also contribute to raising public awareness of the global marine pollution issue. Volunteers find beach cleanups rewarding, knowing their efforts contribute to environmental solutions. In that sense, cleanup activities are a good way to increase the feeling of self-efficacy among volunteers.

Such actions can also help researchers to better understand beach pollution. From the rubbish collected, researchers can understand the most common types of rubbish. This, in turn, will help lobby groups, government departments, and the community at large to mitigate the release of that specific kind of rubbish in the future.

Here is the roadmap to get active:

Select a beach to clean
Make a schedule (according to when the beach is empty and your volunteers are available)
Notify and if necessary, seek permission from the local authority
Find fellow volunteers and use social media to activate family and friends
Get supplies (such as recyclable garbage bags, rakes, trash sticks, protective gloves) and start off