World Cleanup Day mobilizes volunteers in Denmark to combat beach waste

Cigarette butts, plastic bottles, and millions of other pieces of waste are being collected from nature today as part of World Cleanup Day. Volunteers around the globe don their gloves to ensure that litter from cities and coastlines ends up in bags and bins. Louise Lerche-Gredal, event coordinator in Denmark and director of the environmental organization Plastic Change, notes the significant problem revealed by these cleanups.

In Denmark alone, over 150 waste collection events are scheduled, including in Hvide Sande, where volunteers have recently collected 15 tons of trash along the coast. Lerche-Gredal suggests that these efforts encourage participants to reflect on waste management in their own lives. She emphasizes the importance of catalyzing broader discussions about waste reduction.

Last year, 219,000 tons of waste were collected during World Cleanup Day. Activities were held in various locations, including La Guaira, Venezuela, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While larger cleanups occur on this special day, trash is collected year-round, particularly at fishing ports. In Thyborøn, for instance, fishermen commonly pull in not just fish but significant amounts of marine debris, including 88 tons of waste last year.

Ebbe Hansen, an administrator of the Facebook group “Havets Skraldemænd,” highlights various unusual items captured as bycatch, stressing the need for decision-makers to address the problem of marine plastic pollution.

Despite the tangible benefits of these cleanup efforts, Lerche-Gredal warns that the rising production of plastic, heavily intertwined with the oil industry, poses an ongoing challenge. She remains hopeful about forthcoming global agreements aimed at reducing plastic production but acknowledges that change will not happen overnight.