Over 2300lbs Of Trash Collected At Clean Up
One Communications and Marooned Ocean Foundation today [Oct 15] released an update on the findings from their collaborative beach and ocean cleanup at Daniel’s Head. Deeming the event a success, the total amount of trash collected weighed in at 2,336.9lbs.
“The type of garbage that sits along our seabed, and the other waste that washes up on shore, never ceases to amaze me” says Michele Belvedere, One Communications NOCC Manager.
“We had such a great turnout with over 100 registered volunteers sharing their Sunday with us, adults and school children alike. Some families made a day of it by starting off with the cleanup, then having a picnic and some beach time.”
Students were able to begin building on their community hours, many contributing half a day to the cause. A number of students are already involved with Eco Clubs within their schools, therefore making this cleanup effort an effortless endeavour.
Examples of the trash collected included items such as:
- A discarded pedal bicycle
- Ghost nets
- Fishing line
- Old shoes
- Broken bottles
- Lost ropes
- Micro plastics
- Part of a boat’s hull
A sonobuoy casing was the ‘find of the day’ – described as a relatively small buoy expendable sonar system that is dropped/ejected from aircraft or ships conducting anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research.
One of the unfortunate encounters of the day included the discovery of a lifeless turtle washed up on the beach.
Adam Johnson, cofounder of Marooned expressed, “It was pretty poignant to arrive the morning of the clean-up and find a dead turtle on the beach. We are not sure its cause of death, but it was most likely caused by ingestion of ocean plastics or a collision with a boat.
“In a situation such as this, it was appropriate to call in our friends from BAMZ [Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo], to help retrieve the turtle. As we learned that day, BAMZ preserves the specimen and will conduct a more detailed examination, or necropsy, to identify the specific cause of death. Through processes such as this, we gain a better understanding of what tragedies can be prevented.”
“Partnering with Bermemes has been a tremendous help to not only showcase the event, but more importantly it’s been an incredible boost to raising awareness surrounding the never ending conservation efforts across the Island and its waters” says One’s Marketing Communications Director, Schereene Outerbridge.
To gauge the impact of a cleanup effort, the event organizers invited volunteers to guess how much trash would be collected that day. The father and son duo of Mathew & Daniel Ringer submitted 1950lbs as their best guess.
Naked Zero presenting the winners with a generous prize pack of their sustainable goods.
One Communications and Marooned Ocean Foundation said they look forward to hosting their next cleanup event early in 2019, a date to be released at a later time.
Both the organizations would like to acknowledge their heartfelt appreciation of the additional support provided by the following groups: Guardians of the Reef, Joe Vieira Trucking, Best Shipping, Naked Zero, Green Lite Café, Tropical Sno, and BLDC.
Read More About
Category: All, Environment
