The activities will take place from September 20 to 28 to highlight the issue of marine litter and strengthen civil society’s commitment to ocean protection.
The Oceano Azul Foundation, which organizes and supports various actions across the country, announced that this year’s edition would begin next Saturday in Santa Maria, Azores, with a large cleanup operation involving citizens and entities. This event receives institutional support from the Foundation, the Regional Government, the European Commission Representation in Portugal, and the Blue Azores program.
Apart from this effort, organized throughout the island by several associations and citizen movements, hundreds of other organizations, entities, and individuals will partake in what is described as one of Europe’s largest environmental mobilizations, according to the Foundation.
Over the past six years, the International Coastal Cleanup Day has involved 400 organizations in more than 880 cleanup activities, with about 30,000 volunteers collecting over 160 tons of waste.
“Aiming to mobilize and raise awareness among the public about the issue of marine litter and ocean protection, Portuguese organizations lead this annual mobilization,” states the announcement, emphasizing that Portugal, due to its efforts, now conducts the most activities related to this event, representing over half of the #EUBeachCleanup campaign’s European initiatives.
The Oceano Azul Foundation also mentions that until the 28th, any citizen or organization can register their action or learn how to participate in one of the activities through the foundation’s website.
International Coastal Cleanup Day is celebrated annually on the third Saturday of September. It is a global initiative that began in the United States and now involves thousands of volunteers across hundreds of countries.
