To mark World Cleanup Day on 18 September, Let’s Make Cyprus Green and GenPro carried out a joint clean-up of Dasoudi Beach in Limassol, in an effort to protect coastal waters and marine life.
The GenPro team came with their friends and families and were joined by LMCG members, making around 30 volunteers including some enthusiastic youngsters. Rubbish was removed from a 500 m stretch of beach and the bordering parkland. 27 bags (250 kilos) of litter were collected, including a bag of aluminium drink cans which were donated to Cans for Kids. The most numerous items were plastic bottles, straws and cellophane straw wrappers and cigarette butts. We also found a damaged shopping cart that we will be upcycling into a large flower pot. Our presence early on a busy Saturday morning attracted attention, with many passers-by stopping to thank the volunteers or ask for information about getting involved.
Cleanups are immensely important and, sadly, will continue to be so for many years, so long as humans worldwide allow the seas to be polluted with plastic waste. Yet cleanups alone cannot solve this problem, either locally or globally.
To address the issue of littering at its core, we must refuse single-use items as much as possible and opt for reusable options instead. Reuse systems such as deposit-and-return must be easily accessible to all and should become the norm in places such as supermarkets and shopping malls. Producers must take responsibility for the whole lifecycle of materials that are harming our planet. Governments must prioritize environmental protection and enact policies which will push consumers in the right direction. Environmental education needs to be built into our school curricula.
Only together can we work towards a cleaner world in an effort to benefit humans, animals and the environment. Organizations that are campaigning for more environmental measures, such as Let’s Make Cyprus Green, need your support to bring about the transformation our society needs.
We warmly thank GenPro for their commitment to a sustainable future and for making a positive impact on our environment in Limassol. We look forward to more such cooperative initiatives in the future.
