Sunday June 29th saw the 5th beach clean up on Nim Shue Wan & Cheung Sha Lan beaches and what a day it was. Not a record turnout but definitely a great turnout of really committed people considering the weather! We had a couple of short thunderstorms to kick start the day but after that the weather did improve.
The volunteers were met with an overwhelming amount of rubbish strewn across the beaches – washed up from all the wild weather we have had of late. Both beaches were littered with a massive amount of styrofoam (packaging, tableware, bottle covers and millions of ‘bits’), bottles (plastic & glass), lightglobes, plastic pieces (bottle tops, straws, toothbrushes, wrappings, bags, broken toys) … the list goes on.
Seeing all this non-biodegradable waste was really disheartening but the most significant way of really making a difference in the long term is to change our habits. We need to consume less of these products but also consume smarter. Look for items with less packaging, use biodegradable products and recycle as much as we can for a start.
Cheung Sha Lan beach report … Because we didn’t have the manpower to be able to remove all the rubbish that had built up on Cheung Sha Lan, we took a creative approach to raise some awareness. We collected as much recyclable material (particularly plastic bottles) and as much styrofoam as we could. The children (Rebecca, Matthew, Ella, Finn & Olivia) did an amazing job going along and collecting all the shoes that were scattered all over the beach. They made an impressive and surprising pile. We also piled up the foam just to show how much of a problem this type of waste is. Big thanks to Fiona, Mike, Jeff and Sylvain for all the hard work! The Marine Dept. came and removed all the rubbish we had collected from the beach. When we rejoined the group on Nim Shue Wan we could appreciate all their hardwork too …..
Nim Shue Wan beach report … The heavy rain and occasional thunder and lightning did not deter the committed, brave souls who contributed to the cleanup on Nim Shue Wan beach. As expected, there was plenty of work to do, especially at the end of the beach closest to DB where the tide tends to gather the rubbish on a daily basis. There was an incredible amount of plastic food wrapping, plastic bags and plastic bottles; and some worrisome medical waste that included syringes and glass bottles containing what appeared to be some sort of chemical. As always, there were a lot of polystyrene bits and pieces all over the beach. The bigger and bulkier pieces that were more visible were easier to gather and collect. Some of the rubbish was buried in the sand making it very difficult to remove. Due to the lack of manpower, some rubbish was unfortunately left on the beach this time. Once again, it was the smaller bits and pieces that were so abundant, and seemingly impossible to gather effectively by hand. Unfortunately, it is precisely these little bits of debris that get washed out to sea again with the tide, and that fish and birds often mistake for food and fatally ingest…
Although there weren’t a lot of hands on the beach, the difference made by those who attended was clearly visible – the proof was in the number of bags that were full of rubbish at the end of the cleanup!
It was definitely a meaningful morning, and a fun one that was full of smiles and positive energy that even the heavy rain and mud couldn’t dampen. A great big thanks to all those who came to help out at Nim Shue Wan!
The BBQ provided free by Hemingway’s by the Bay was a most welcome treat. What better way to revive than with a Hot Dog and a nice cold beer! Thanks Gary & Max! We also held a raffle with the grand prize of a fantastic organic food & eco-friendly products hamper, kindly donated by Gaelle from DB’s local shop Kinoa (www.kinoa-shop.com) going to Alison Seabrook and family. Thanks also to Hoi Yu for once again providing water for the day.
It was a very enjoyable day and there was a really positive atmosphere especially after all the hard work was over. It was great chatting with DB Green regulars and also with our beach clean up newcomers. The fun visual display of ’seafood’ organised by The Way to Go was a good talking point and can still be viewed on the website www.Way-to-Go.org
DB Green has lots of exciting activities planned for the rest of the year, so please keep a look out for our next event (www.DBGreen.org) and if you want to get more involved, we are always in need of enthusiastic people to help us achieve our goals.
Thanks for making this a very memorable day!
The Beach Clean Up Team
PS More photos to follow soon…
