Pune citizens clean South Goa’s beaches
An environment clean-up drive on the beaches brings home the hard reality of the amount of plastic that is being used and carelessly discarded.
Pune:
Over seven members consisting from Pune and Mumbai set out on a drive to clean beaches which had piles of waste. Kajol Patel said, “In November 2021, we set out on a gorgeous day to visit our favourite beaches in South Goa. We noticed enormous waves and travelers absorbed in their daily activities. We felt thankful for the abundance of beauty in nature.”
Shriram Dandage, Pauravi Supekar, Kajol and Aditya are from Pune while Adarsh is from Mumbai. Sanjay joined the drive from Goa. Pauravi and Sanjay are professional scuba divers.
The next look at these beaches broke our hearts as we observed piles of plastic and glass debris on the sand and in the nooks and crannies of the stones.
“We imagined the amount of plastic that disrupts the beach ecology, also causing harm to the marine life. At this point, we felt determined to clean the beaches. We, a team of seven members planned the clean-up drive for three days in the first week of May and arrived in Goa on the 5th. As the restrictions eased, tourism thrived, and so also the garbage collected, ” Kajol informed.
The members identified tourist hotspots (Butterfly beach, Kakolem, Cabo de Rama) encrusted in plastic and glass waste and contacted the Department of Tourism, Goa, for garbage collection.
Kajol further shared, “We are grateful to the Department of Tourism, Goa and Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Corporation Private Limited (KCIC) for supporting and helping us in collecting the garbage bags gathered during the clean-up drive and delivering them to recycling station in Saligao for further processing. W attempted to collect and clean up every corner of the beach while also separating the waste and found that plastic bottles contributed around 30% of the trash, followed by plastic wrappers of all shapes and sizes and plastic packaging including laminated plastics (15%), rubber waste (5%), glass bottle waste (15%), metal cans (15%), miscellaneous small items (10%), and discarded fishing gear (10%). Bio-Degradable plastic garbage bags were used to collect the plastic and rubber waste. To avoid any injury when collecting and hauling the glass waste, which was usually found in the form of bottles, it was collected in gunny sacks.”
Without the guidance of Clinton Vaz, who assisted us with his contacts and knowledge, Pauravi Supekar, who led and designed the entire clean-up drive, and Sanjay Varma, who coordinated with the agencies and served as a strong foundation throughout the clean-up drive, this effort would have been impossible. With the rest of the volunteers Aditya Dutta, Adarsh Makwana, and Kajol Patel, this whole group was determined to do their best to protect the beautiful ecosystem from plastic and other types of waste without any external funding.
Every person throwing trash in the dustbin in tourist areas, or in their towns can make a difference because the waste will be collected and sent to the government recycling stations, saving our environment. Making deliberate choices in our daily lives, such as using and carrying steel straws, metal bottles, bamboo toothbrushes, steel cutlery, and bringing your shopping bags and waste bags wherever you travel, may significantly impact to the environment.
“Join us in our clean-up drive and help us create not just a drop but an ocean of a clean, sustainable environment, ” concluded Kajol.
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