Sandrina RodriguesPlastic and more plastic…. That’s what better describes last Sunday morning. Actually 258 Kg of plastic! That’s the amount collected in just 1h40min by 13 people, at Praia de Santana, Ribeira Grande.
And what is better to celebrate the World’s Ocean Day than collecting debris from our beaches and contribute to their protection? Unfortunately, plastic is still very much present in our daily life. But not all plastic is bad.
The problem lies in single-use plastic, the ones that are not easily recyclable and the way we dispose it. And our clean-up showed us exactly that. Lots and lots of plastic bottles, from water bottles, sodas, and detergents.
Shoes, shoes soles, flip flops. Fishing gear, lots and lots of fishing gear. Even coffee capsules, lighters and pens were found.
All already common in our coastal clean-ups. In the end, all plastic.
Once again, this demonstrates the so needed change of habits. Nowadays there are already easily available alternatives to single-use plastic, like reusable water bottles and coffee capsules, like bamboo brushes and solid or refillable shampoos and soaps. We can choose reusable bags instead of plastic ones. In our barbecues choose to take plates and cutlery from home instead of those disposable ones. These are just a few examples, there is much more …
Today, we left another beach without debris, preventing this one from going to the sea hurting marine life and even us.
Joining us we had a family from our Guardians of the Azores Project that collected 53kg of the 258kg of plastic.
All the data collected about the rubbish collected will contribute to the Life IP Azores Natura Project. We would like to thank the Câmara Municipal de Ribeira Grande for providing a truck to collect all the debris and take it to the disposal centre.
Sandrina Rodrigues
Futurismo Biologists Team
