28th September 2022 – The Ministry of Environment Climate Change Disaster Management and Meteorology in collaboration with the Sustainable Waste Action in the Pacific Project (SWAP), the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (POLP) and KIOST Pacific Ocean Acidification Program successfully implemented the International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) day event held at Mataniko river mouth beach near Renlau Community.
The International Coastal Cleanup Day is the single coastal cleanup day in the world celebrated every year. The day was started as a way to raise awareness about the growing pollution on various beaches of the world. A promise to bring cleanliness and purity to nature as a whole.
This year 2022 mark the 36th year of the ICCD in action. In 2020 more than 221,589 volunteers from all around the world removed over 5,229,065 pounds of trash along 49,635 miles. Since the first ICC in 1986, over 16.5 million volunteers globally have collected and logged 357,102,419 items, totalling over 344 million pounds of trash. Marine litter is a global intergenerational and transboundry issue that negatively affects the environment, people and coastal economy around the world.
On Saturday 24th September 2022, the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD) with Friends of the City (FOTC) and Renlau Community joins the world to partake on this important event. It is a half day event that involves the official opening near the Mataniko Plaza area, clean up and removal of litter from the Renlau Beach, litter audit, collection and transportation of waste to the disposal site at Ranadi landfill. On that event, 2 loads of 3ton tipper truck of waste are collected and transported by Honiara City Council to the Ranadi Landfill.
Environment Intern from Environment and Conservation Division, Ministry of Environment Climate Change Disaster Management and Meteorology, Mr. Leon Labuga and Ms. Patrina Millie manages the ICCD project activities. Mr Leon thanks the members of the Friends of the City, Renlau Community and staffs of the Ministry of Environment for showing up and taking part in the global effort to clean the environment. He urges the general public to partake in such event in the future to clean Honiara, our City, and Our Home. This is paramount as we prepare towards a Safe and Green Games 2023.