The cleaning drive organised on the Shanghumughom beach here, in connection with International Coastal Clean-up Day on Saturday, revealed the dire need of adequate litter bins on the premises.
Volunteers of the World Wide Fund for Nature- India (WWF-India), Kerala unit along with TIDY CITY and Nature club members collected three bags of litter from a section of the beach.
The waste collected was segregated after the two hour drive that started at 7 a.m. Major contributors (50 per cent) were wooden ice-cream sticks, followed by plastic wastes including spoons, ice-cream cups, bottles, food wrappers and disposable plastic cups.
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They were given a good fight by cigarette butts and burnt match sticks (25 per cent).
Though the number of liquor bottles (4) was less in number, it indicated the callous attitude towards disposal of such ‘injurious waste,’ according to WWF-India State unit.
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Newspaper bits and abandoned toys constituted the rest of the garbage.
The volunteers also came across remnants of a Ganesha idol made of Plaster of Paris weighing 5 kg on the beach. Shanghumughom was the venue for the immersion of the recent Ganesha festival held in the district. Surprisingly, just two mineral water bottles were found.
CarelessAttitude
According to the WWF unit, a disturbing recovery was that of two diapers. Usually diapers are used for infants by well-to-do families.
The presence of diapers on the beach pointed to a careless attitude towards environmental protection, it said.
The data collected is entered into a standard datasheet which will be shared with an international agency who, with its global partners, will compile the data.
The agency will come out with the final report on the trends in coastal and marine pollution at a global scale.