International Coastal Cleanup takes place today

By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
beach 88 (photo credit: )
beach 88
(photo credit: )
Head on out to a beach on Friday to join international efforts to clean up the world's coastlines. Israel will be participating in the annual international coastal cleanup, begun by US NGO Ocean Conservancy. For the 12th year running, pupils, navy and air force personnel, recreational divers and the public at large have been invited to help pick up trash along the beaches lining the Mediterranean. Not only does trash sully the country's beaches, it is a serious threat to marine life. Over 1.1 million animals and birds each year either are strangled to death when they become entangled in garbage or else die when they ingest it. The most dangerous debris is discarded fishing gear, especially fishing line. Ocean Conservancy uses the event to raise awareness and encourage more ecologically friendly behavior year-round. This year, the event will take place worldwide on Saturday, but in Israel on Friday. The main event here will take place at Hametzuda beach in Ashdod with the Australian ambassador to Israel. Events will also be held at Palmahim Beach, Michmoret/Gadur Beach, Dadu beach in Haifa and the beaches of Eilat (both Friday and Saturday). There will be ecological diving and trash collecting from the Red Sea over the weekend. Last year, nearly 400,000 volunteers from 76 countries and 45 US states cleared six million pounds of trash, according to the organization's Web site. They covered 33,000 miles of stream, river, and ocean coastlines. Not only did they clear it, they recorded every bit of trash collected, thus creating a unique data bank of worldwide ocean trash and disposal habits. Last year, "in Israel, 1,295 volunteers participated in the ICC, removing 28,575 pounds of trash and debris from 13.5 miles of shoreline. In addition, 50 volunteer divers participated in underwater cleanups, removing 540 pounds of debris from five miles of sea floor," according to a report filed to Ocean Conservancy by the Environmental Protection Ministry. The global event grew out of a single local action in Texas. "One woman walking along the beach of South Padre Island, Texas, was appalled at the amount of trash she saw and she immediately felt compelled to do something about it. She organized a beach cleanup, and, in a mere two hours, 2,800 Texans picked up 124 tons of trash." That was in 1986, according to Ocean Conservancy's site.