LET'S CLEAN UP BRAZIL

The  Projeto Limpeza na Praia do Instituto Ecológico Aqualung  (the Beach Clean-up Project of the Aqualung Ecological Institute) organised an event called "Vamos Limpar Brasil” (Let's Clean Up Brazil) for Saturday June the 2nd, 2012.

The clean-up was set to take place between 10:00 and 13:00 on the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, São Conrado, Barra da Tijuca, Sepetiba, Ilha de Paquetá, Maricá and Saquarema in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

Such an event is laudable. Periodical clean-ups are good but what is really needed is a Brazilian national effort to build public awareness about the consequences of leaving trash on the beach. We need the promotion of government campaigns on TV, in schools and in universities. 

I do my own single-handed clean-up 2 or 3 times a week on half of Ipanema beach, along the waterline. However, I fear that the effect on the mass of the general public is practically nil. In fact, you can collect the trash along the waterline and people see you doing it but continue to leave their trash as soon as you have passed by. The fact is that they are completely insensitive about the damage caused by trash on the beach. In some cases, it is pure selfishness. In other cases, it is pure ignorance. 

Although I usually do my clean-up on Ipanema beach at the end of the afternoon, I decided to do it earlier on Saturday and see how the organised clean-up was coming on.  I got to the beach about 11:00  but must confess that I personally did not see anyone collecting trash on the beach. 

I jogged down the waterline from a point opposite Rua Teixeira de Melo to Jardim De Allah. Although there were not many people on the beach, about 15 kilos of plastic and other trash had been left along the stretch between the low and high tide marks. The waves were already sweeping the trash into the sea.  You can reckon that the volume would have been 10 times that at the end of the day. 

This is a photo of the plastic bag I used, my gloves and the trash collected: