On World Clean Up day people from all over the world got together and cleaned their parks, beaches, neighbourhoods. Millions were uniting worldwide to launch a cleaner future.
Why should we clean the trash? Won't it just decompose by itself? Well no, not really, check out this picture with estimated times until it's gone.
Crazy right?
We as youth have the responsibility to take care of ourselves, other people but surely also our mother earth. So some of our members went to the coast to clean it up.
We went to the event from the Propere Strand lopers, this is a citizen initiative where citizens from all over the coast are cleaning monthly, weekly even daily when they take a walk. This summer alone they found over 13 000 liters of trash.
On World Clean Up day at our Belgian coast 554 people cleaned 45 km of coastline and found 7.570 liters of trash. Right here you can see which items are the top 10 of found litter in Europe. This could also be seen on our coast since we ourselves found countless amounts of cigarettes, plastic pieces and polystyrene.
1. Reduce your use of single-use plastics Carry around a water bottle, have your own cutlery with you, have a lunch box, say no to straws, use reusable shopping bags (yes even for vegetables and fruits there are other options).
2. Recycle properly Know what to throw where and sort paper from organics from plastics (PMD) from rest.
3. Participate in a Clean-up There are many clean up groups or events all over the world, participate in it once and see how amazing it makes you feel to help. Or whenever you go on a walk take at least 3 pieces of trash with you and dispose of it properly.
4. Support bans Support groups who try to push bans on single use plastic like the latest ban we've seen in the European Union. It is a step forward but many things could still be changed, for instance the use of balloons and releasing them into nature.
5. Avoid products with microbeads
These tiny little particles in hygiene products all wash up into our oceans and waterways. Animals ingest these particles and in turn so do we! Let's not poison ourselves and say no to microbeads.
6. Spread the word Stay informed on these issues and make others aware of the problem. Don't just tell them off but inform them on why it could be harmful to nature and ourselves. Be the good example others want to follow.
7. Support Organisations Addressing Plastic Pollution Many organisations and groups are working on plastic pollution. Here are some good ones you could support: Oceanic Society, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Plastic Soup Foundation, 4ocean, ...
But overall remember: Don’t throw your trash on the ground, it ends up in our beautiful nature, seas and oceans.