Massive support for International Coastal Cleanup Day
MORE than 2,000 Jamaicans turned out to volunteer for International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 25.
The effort was spearheaded by the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), national co-ordinators for the event. JET’s own clean up saw over 1,000 volunteers helping to clean the Fort Rocky Beach on the Palisadoes Strip, marking the largest turn out at the environmental lobby group’s flagship International Coastal Cleanup Day event.
A total of 45 clean ups took place across the island to mark the day, co-ordinated by 28 community groups, NGOs, government agencies and private sector organisations.
“This year has proven to be our biggest (local) international coastal cleanup yet,” said Suzanne Stanley, programme director at JET, in a release to the media. “We hope that next year even more Jamaicans will turn out to help us clean our coastlines and raise awareness about marine pollution.”
International Coastal Cleanup Day was started 25 years ago by the Ocean’s Conservancy and is the largest volunteer event in the world, taking place in 118 countries.
Jamaica’s International Coastal Cleanup Day by numbers
* 45 beach cleanup sites in 11 parishes islandwide
* 28 beach cleanup co-ordinators
* one national International Coastal Cleanup co-ordinator (JET)
* Most sites co-ordinated by one group — six sites by BREDS in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth
* Largest turnout at a single site — over 1,000 volunteers at JET’s Fort Rocky beach cleanup.
JET’s Fort Rocky Beach Cleanup by numbers:
* 1,006 volunteers registered with an estimated 1,100 participants
* 1.5 miles of beach cleaned
* 19 tents, 10 corporate sponsors present
* 15 corporate teams
* 10 school teams
* five busloads of volunteers from the JET pick up points
* five tons of garbage (three truckloads) at Fort Rocky taken away before the clean up
* five tons of garbage (one truckload of plastics, two truckloads of mixed garbage) removed from the Fort Rocky Beach by volunteers