Montenegro is joining the International Coastal Cleanup 2018 by cleaning beaches and coastal underwater belts in six municipalities- Herceg Novi, Kotor, Tivat, Budva, Bar and Ulcinj on Saturday, 15 September. This is the second time this international eco action will be performed in our country, which makes Montenegro a member of an eco family connecting more than 120 countries in the world.
The International Coastal Cleanup began more than 30 years ago, when communities rallied together with the common goal of collecting and documenting the trash littering their coastline. The movement was catalyzed by the passion and spirit of two committed individuals. Back in 1986, Linda Maraniss moved to Texas from Washington, DC, where she had been working for Ocean Conservancy. She’d been inspired by the work her Ocean Conservancy colleague Kathy O’Hara was doing on a groundbreaking report called Plastics in the Ocean: More than a Litter Problem that would be published the next year.
Linda and Kathy reached out to the Texas General Land Office, local businesses and other dedicated ocean-lovers, and planned what would become Ocean Conservancy’s first Cleanup. They asked volunteers to go beyond picking up trash and record each item collected on a standardized data card in order to identify ways to eliminate ocean trash in the future.
The Cleanup has grown immensely in the 30 years since Linda and Kathy’s first Cleanup. Volunteers from states and territories throughout the U.S. and more than 120 countries come together each year and participate in a cleanup event near them.
Scientists dealing with marine biology, as well as numerous movements, have pointed out for a long time now that, unless serious measures are taken at the global level, by 2025, every three tons of fish will see another ton of plastic waste. This plastic waste is dominantly made of one-time-use plastic products.
In order to stop this serious ecological problem, as a disastrous development trend, a large number of non-governmental and other organizations, as well as public institutions throughout Montenegro, joined in the organization of the biggest action to clean up the Montenegrin coast ever. The aim of the action is to collect the waste from the beach and select it in order to turn the attention of the Montenegrin public and citizens on the number of one-time plastic products ending up in our sea every day.
The International Coastal Cleanup 2018 in Montenegro is organized by NGO Zero Waste Montenegro, NGO Our Action, EU Info Center, Green Home NGO, Dr Martin Schneider Jacoby (MSJA), NGO Green Mind, Eco Art NGO, NGO "MOGUL" - Ulcinj, RDA-UBA, Knightsbridge Schools International Montenegro, Montenegro Eco Adventures, Into Pause and NGO "Clean Sea". The action is supported by the EU Delegation in Montenegro, the Municipality of Kotor and Public Enterprise “Morsko Dobro”.
