When does 120 + 90 = 650 ?
120 people, 90 minutes, 650 kgs of rubbish = a regular Saturday morning on the Costa del Sol
The beach looked pretty clean on arrival, and I wondered whether it was going to be worth the effort… one-and-a-half hours later, and with an estimate of some 650 kgs of rubbish collected, one realised that the problem of pollution on our coast is enormous, far bigger than meets the eye.
By noon on Saturday 9th March, in the region of 120 volunteers pitched up, most of them strangers to one another, all with one common purpose in mind, to clean Laguna Village Beach.
Large hessian bags were supplied by Plastic Free Seas Worldwide, and off we went, suitably gloved, collecting anything we could lay our hands on which did not belong on the beach and environs, and which could be handled safely. Everything was dumped on tarpaulins which were set up at a collection point, where volunteers sorted and bagged rubbish according to type. The relevant authorities had been alerted, and were coming to collect the rubbish for processing by category after the event.
Craig Webb, founder of the organisation Plastic Free Seas Worldwide (PFSW), organised and managed the cleanup event with an ease and efficiency which most politicians can only dream about. He started picking up rubbish on beaches on his own in 2017, soon found strangers joining him, and PFSW grew from there. That they can now muster an astonishing 120 volunteers, many of them children (and a few dogs too), is impressive.
It was interesting to realise the extent to which individuals are concerned about the problems facing our environment. Even better was seeing their willingness to be part of the solution, including several people from our Costa del Sol West Anglican parish congregation.
The most common items we found? Predictably, plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, cans, cigarette butts by the thousand, polystyrene bits in various stages of , earbud and lollipop sticks, wet wipes, insulation foam (lots of it), various plastic and metal items used in construction.
The most surprising? A broken kayak oar stashed in the bushes, corrugated plastic sheeting, a large orange gas canister, and the remains of a mattrass. On a beach?!
All in all, a satisfying couple of hours. We learnt a lot, and it felt good to make a difference.
Helen Kaye
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