Over 2 tons of waste collected last year
Albufeira Council is organising the second edition of ‘Vamos Limpar Terra e Mar’ (Let’s Clean Earth and Sea), a coastal cleanup event which will take place on Saturday, September 16.
The meeting point will be at Albufeira Marina at 9am. Registrations are already open online.
“Sustainably preserving and conserving the oceans, seas, and marine resources is one of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Oceans represent one of the world’s main reservoirs of biodiversity, encompassing over 90% of the planet’s habitable space, hosting around 250,000 known species, and providing half of the oxygen we breathe,” the local council highlights in a communiqué to the press.
“Conscious of this reality, the municipality of Albufeira is committed to this fundamental cause for the survival of our planet,” says local mayor José Carlos Rolo.“The municipality has invested strongly in events and initiatives aimed at protecting the environmental quality of our beaches, particularly in terms of sanitation and cleaning of the coastline, which has resulted in very positive impacts on the destination’s image.”
The council also notes that Albufeira has been “a leader in terms of the Blue Flag and gold quality flags for several years, positioning the borough as one of the best tourist destinations nationally.”
The first edition of the cleanup event attracted 109 volunteers and led to the collection of over 2 tons of waste from the coastline, cliffs and seabed.
As deputy mayor Cristiano Cabrita has pointed out, “every year, five to 12 million tons of plastic end up in the oceans, killing over 1 million seabirds and more than 100,000 turtles, seals, and whales, in addition to an immense number of fish. Therefore, it is urgent to combat ocean pollution.”
The event is organised by the local council in partnership with various local entities, including Albufeira Marina, Albufeira Fishermen’s Association, Baleeira Fishermen’s Association, Albufeira Volunteer Firefighters, Easydivers, Dreamwave, Algarexperience, Docapesca, Albufeira Maritime Delegation, and AIMM – Association for Marine Environment Research.
