WORLD CLEAN UP DAY 2020
World Clean Up Day 2020
We clean the Baltic TOGETHER
– divers, citizens and tourists, combine forces in the cleaning action for the Baltic Sea.
The litter we see every day in the water or in the sand is just the tip of the iceberg! It is estimated that only about 1% of all marine litter is found on the surface of water, approximately 5% lands on beaches and as much as 94% falls on the sea bottom, where it stays for decades, posing a huge threat to the entire ecosystem!
On 20th September 2020, in the framework of the WORLD CLEAN UP DAY, the MARE Foundation organised the first edition of the action: WE CELAN THE BALTIC.
The Baltic Sea is OUR sea. Let’s protect it together!
On the 20th of September, as part of the #WorldCelanUpDay , we cleaned the beaches, dunes, surrounding forests and the sea bottom in Gdańsk Brzeźno. More than 100 people participated in our event. We collected over 50 bags of litter.
All lovers of the sea - divers, citizens, tourists, adults and children - combained their dorces for the benefit of the Baltic Sea and participated in the event.
Only together we have the power to change the world!
The event was organised by the MARE Foundation together with the TRYTON Diving Centre in Gdańsk, the Nautica Centre for Underwater Tourism and the Smaller Blue Foundation, under the media patronage of the biggest polish diving online portal divers24.pl
We were accompanied by wonderful atmosphere and a sense of doing something important for the Baltic. In addition, everyone who collected a bag of litter received, apart from the words of gratitude, a reward – a limited edition poster, dedicated to the event WE CLEAN THE BALTIC 2020.
See the photos from this event.
ANYONE CAN DO SOEMTHING TO CLEAN THE SEA! JUST DO IT!
If you cannot take part in the event in Gdańsk, just take your family and clean the beach closest to your home. If you are not lucky enough to live close to the sea, just get out of the house and clean the closest forest or river or even the street.
Please remember that as much as 99.7% of the territory of Poland is located in the Baltic catchment area, which means that regardless where you live, you have an impact on the state of the Baltic Sea. Make it a positive impact!
THE BALTIC IS FULL OF LITTER
From 4.8 to 12.7 million tonnes of plastic end up in the seas and oceans every year! This means that every minute an amount equivalent to the volume of one garbage truck enters marine waters. Plastic litter is everywhere, from the Arctic region to the Antarctica, from the surface to the sea bottom.
Things do not look any better in our sea. It is estimated that more than 60% of marine litter found in the Baltic and on the coast consists of plastic of various kind. Moreover, Poland is among six EU Member States with the highest demand for single use plastic, and therefore has a huge impact on the plastic pollution in the sea.
PLASTIC IS NOT FANTASTIC
Plastic does not decompose, but only breaks down into smaller and smaller particles, the so-called microplastic (particles below 5 mm), which remain forever in the ecosystem. Due to their small size, microplastics are easily wallowed by living organisms and thus enter the food chain. Recently, microplastic particles have been found in drinking water and such food products as salt or honey. Their effects on human health are not yet known.
THE BEACHES ARE COVERED WITH CIGARETTE BUTTS!
Cigarette butts are another very common and omnipresent type of pollution. Butts constitute more than 50% of single use plastic litter on Baltic beaches. Smokers often do not know that cigarette filters are composed of cellulose acetate, i.e. plastic, which can decompose up to 10 years. Research indicates that cigarette butts contain many toxic chemical substances, including arsenic, nicotine and various heavy metals, which are released into the environment form butts. Cigarette filters are not biodegradable, only photodegradable, which means that they break into smaller pieces in the presence of UV radiation. These pieces remain in the environment where they are absorber and eaten by living organisms.
The average annual consumption of cigarettes in Poland amounts to 45 billion! It is estimated that 60% of cigarettes are thrown on the ground and washed away by rain end up in the sea, where they pose a great threat to the marine ecosystem and the living organisms!
See you next year! #WorldCleanUpDay