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Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Partners with The Belize Scouts Association for the 29th annual International River and Coastal Clean-up held under the theme “FIGHTING FOR TRASH FREE SEAS”

Hundreds of Belizean wavemakers participate in country-wide effort to remove debris and garbage from waterways and coastline

On Saturday, September28, 2019, more than 1,500of Oceana’s wavemakers and volunteers participated in the 29th annual nation-wide cleanup led by the Belize Scouts Association and supported by other organizations and schools to remove trash and debris from river banks, waterways and beaches. Wavemakers, armed with biodegradable garbage bags and gloves, removed trash from coastal areas of Belize City, Punta Gorda, Independence, Hopkins, Corozal, and along river ways in Orange Walk and San Ignacio.

Most  commonly  collected  items  were plastic  bags,  Styrofoam  products,  straws,  bottle  caps,  plastic  utensils  and aluminum wrappers –to name a few, including a number of unusual items such as a deceased juvenile hawksbill turtle and even balls of hair.

“Beyond  having  an  immediate  impact  on  local  waterways,  cleanups  are  an  important  way  of  raising  awareness”,  stated Janelle  Chanona,  Vice-President of Oceana. “It  is  entirely  possible  to  break  our  single-use  plastic  and  Styrofoam  habit. These items are hurting the health of everything we depend on economically. By supporting the companies offering reusable and biodegradable options, we can create a cleaner, healthier Belize.”

Belize joins over 100 other countries as part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup, the largest global volunteer effort to collect and document the trash littering coastlines. This year’s theme, “Fighting for Trash Free Seas”,  highlights  the  scale  of  ocean  trash,  particularly  plastic,  which  not  only  pollutes  our  waterways  and coastlines, but negatively impacts marine life and our physical well-being. Every article of trash collected, is recorded and the information sent to the Ocean Conservancy to document the state of marine litter in Belize along with the more than 100 other countries that participated and continue to have cleanups over the course of the next month.

In 2018, Belize removed over 13,000 lbs of trash from it’s waterways and coastline. Oceana thanks all wavemakers and volunteers for doing their part to ensure a clean and healthy ocean free of trash. Belizean Wavemakers are part of the more than a million Oceana members that support the protection and restoration of the world’s oceans.

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

Oceana Belize National Coastal and Riverways Cleanup

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