UDUPI: Twelve tons of footwear that washed ashore along the 200-metre stretch of Kodi beach has been cleared by volunteers of Clean Kundapur Project over seven Sundays. Volunteers regularly conduct cleaning drives at the beach every Sunday and they have already completed 60 such campaigns.
Bharath Bangera, a volunteer from the group, said that they have gone beyond picking up trash and have collected each item in a systematic way to identify ways to eliminate ocean trash. “We are working with the Reef Watch Marine Conservation, an NGO, to assess waste.
It shows that there is a dire need for a proper disposal system, especially of plastic items, chappals and bottles. Turtles and other marine species get entangled in plastic and die,” he said. Around 30-40 volunteers cleaned the beach on Sundays and the pile of footwear that was collected, along with plastic bottles, will send out a message to the people on the need for conservation.
A marine biologist, Ashna Abhi, helped the group weigh the trash. The volunteers also collected half-a-ton of glass bottles, 167 kg plastic waste and 13 kg electronic waste. The waste was handed over to local authority for its scientific disposal.