2016 | NATIONAL BEACH CLEANING DAY
17 SEPTEMBER
The Portuguese Association of Marine Waste (APLM) invites all citizens and organizations to participate in the National Beach Cleaning Day, which this year will take place on the 17th of September.
The cleaning campaign that begins on this National Day continues until the 16th of October as part of the "Marine Litter Watch Month" recently instituted by the European Environment Agency , in order to allow different organizations to can choose the most convenient dates for actions in their respective countries.
This European initiative will bring together the results of the various cleaning actions carried out by organizations and local communities on the beaches, which will be transmitted through the Marine Litter Watch (MLW) app, contributing to a database of marine litter in Europe.
This action also takes place at the same time as the global beach cleaning campaign led by one of our international partners, the North American non-governmental organization Ocean Conservancy , contributing in this case to a worldwide marine litter database.
All local organizations and communities must register the beaches they intend to clean through the Marine Litter Watch app (available here for Android system and available here for iOS system) and on the Ocean Conservancy website.
METHOD
Although cleaning is a free action, in the sense that each community will use the method it deems most convenient, it is very important to know how many items are collected and from which categories, as this is the only way to think of measures that can reduce waste to amount, at its origin .
It is important to be able to say the number of butts, cotton sticks, bottle caps (or other types of garbage that we see in abundance) in 100 m of sand, which is the standard section.
Evidently, this method involves the work of counting and filling out a field form with the different categories of garbage we find.
Details about the methodology and other information here:
We suggest that interested communities organize their volunteers in the best way possible and use the form that APLM makes available and where the types of garbage that we commonly find on our beaches can be found.
This sheet simplifies the work, as the list of OSPAR and the Marine Litter Task Group of the European Union, which is used in the Marine Litter Watch app, is quite extensive.
We also suggest that the registration be done on paper, in this form, adding the categories that are not mentioned there, and only after that the data be entered into the MLW app, as it is impractical to use the mobile phone in full sun due to the reflection. The same results can then be aggregated to be inserted in the form that the Ocean Conservancy makes available.
Cleaning of Praia da Cruz Quebrada
The cleaning action that APLM proposes this year will take place at Praia da Cruz Quebrada, Oeiras, at 10:00 am, and closes the work of the 1st Conference on Marine Waste . The organization ensures transport for 27 people from Praça de Espanha, with priority being given to conference participants who need it. The remaining places can be used by all citizens who want to participate, and who must send an email to the Organizing Committee expressing this intention ( email ). This email must contain the name and number of the citizen's card, for the purposes of activating the insurance.
Associated with this initiative are the Lisbon City Council, which provides the bus, the Oeiras City Council, which supplies the bags for collection and is responsible for forwarding the collected garbage, and the Portuguese Society of Ecology, through the participation of its members in the scope of the celebrations of its 20 years of existence.
PROGRAM:
9:00 - Meeting point at Praça de Espanha next to the bus stops.
9:30 am - Departure towards Cruz Quebrada
10:00 - Brief explanation of the methodology to all participants on the beach and start of the cleaning action.
12:30 - Completion of the action
13:00 - Arrival at Praça de Espanha (approximate time)
NOTE:The bus is white and has the symbol of Lisbon City Hall. Gloves and bags for collection and other necessary material will be distributed on the beaches.
Those traveling by their own means should be at Cruz Quebrada beach, on the right bank of the Rio Jamor at 10:00 am.