MARIGOT--The 2014 International Coastal Clean-Up (ICC) Day was another great success on Sunday, with 247 enthusiastic nature-minded volunteers collecting 107 bags of trash weighing 6,158lbs, according to results released by St. Maarten Pride Foundation.
Once again, the army of volunteers targeted La Belle Creole Beach in Baie Nettle.
The local leg of the ICC is organised and coordinated by Dutch-side environmental foundation St. Maarten Pride Foundation and French-side hiking group SXM TRAILS.
"Volunteers consisted of high school students, social groups and business employees who showed true dedication in helping to solve our marine environment for this annual event spearheaded by the Ocean Conservancy," noted Pride Foundation in a release. "Volunteers from several businesses on the island were in full force wearing their company's T-shirts to show their team spirit.
"Represented were Kooyman employees, Sea Side Nature Park, Discovery Farms, SXM Trails hiking club, Rotaract Clubs from both sides of the island, Lions Club, Be The Change Foundation, Learning Unlimited school teachers and Tzu Chi foundation.
"For the three-hour beach clean-up exercise, volunteers combed the secluded beach, which has a difficult access due to the bushy vegetation on the coastline. Volunteers still managed to collect 107 bags of trash weighing 6,158 pounds. This amount does not include the large debris found such as bed mattresses, beach chairs, a small refrigerator and lots of plastic buckets.
"Since this beach is not used for recreation, it is very clearly determined that this sort of trash found is washed up from ocean currents. A very large amount of trash from the maritime industry was found, buoys, large ropes and nets. However, the largest item found was the ubiquitous plastic bottle in all shapes and sizes. It is difficult to determine if this sort of trash was dumped from boats, maritime industry or dumping activities on land."
The ICC offers volunteers the opportunity to play scientist for a day by recording every piece of trash collected. This is added on a special data card and total results will be sent in the coming weeks to Ocean Conservancy, which notes that volunteers have collected data since 1986 with numbers used to raise awareness, identify hotspots for debris or unusual trash events, and determine policy solutions.
The Pride Foundation thanks sponsors who have been donating to this event annually. They are Zee Best Bakery, Cake House Bakery, Heavenly Water, Kooyman, Prime Distributors and Ace Mega Center.
"We also thank the French-side medical team and the Collectivité for their assistance with a tent setup and tables, as well as removal of the trash bags."
