Novo Verde, the packaging waste compliance scheme, in collaboration with Sailors for the Sea Portugal (SFSP), has launched an action called “Reciclar é a Nossa Praia”, meaning “Recycle is Our Beach, International Coastal Cleanup Day” to raise awareness among Portuguese people about how their behaviour affects the seas and oceans and to encourage them to collect litter on beaches and in coastal areas.
This initiative will take place on September 17th, coinciding with thousands of coastal cleanups around the world that will involve millions of volunteers, governments and organizations in 191 countries. In Portugal this year, 635 km of coastline will be cleaned from north to south, including the Azores and Madeira. This action takes place as part of the International Coastal Cleanup Day in collaboration with the Ocean Conservancy.
Recycle is Our Beach is taking place simultaneously in 12 municipalities across the country (10 in mainland Portugal, one in Madeira and one in the Azores) and relies on the participation of coordinators and observers from Sailors For the Sea Portugal, who will begin this mission on September 16 in Cascais, working with observers and volunteers from local communities to protect the environment.
Ricardo Neto, president of Novo Verde, explains, “With this project, we want to continue our mission to raise awareness about the importance of proper waste management and recycling, under the slogan “Recycling is our beach,” a project that won a national sustainability award in 2021. About 80% of marine pollution comes from land, and this is where we should focus our actions to protect a natural resource that is so important for the sustainment and protection of life on land. We want to protect the oceans by acting on land, through cleanup and awareness actions. Indeed, tackling this reality is possible through habits that are accessible to all and appropriate behaviour that really makes a difference in protecting the seas and oceans.
Bernardo Corrêa de Barros, President of Sailors for the Sea Portugal, says: “We are very pleased to be able to contribute once again, together with Novo Verde, to the environmental education of the Portuguese by encouraging them to participate in the International Coastal Cleanup Day. We want to contribute to a generation that is better informed and aware of the positive impact it can have on the environment, through habits and behaviours that it acquires from a young age.”
International Coastal Cleanup Day has been held on the third Saturday in September for more than three decades and was established by the Ocean Conservancy. To document this year’s initiative, all participants are encouraged to sign up for the Clean Swell app, which allows data to be collected on the amount of trash collected.
For more information about this initiative, visit https://www.sailorsfortheseaportugal.org/noticias.
Below are all the beaches where we will be present:
- Praia do Areal de Santa Bárbara Madeira (São Miguel, Açores)
- Praia da Formosa (Funchal, Madeira)
- Praia do Castelo do Neiva (Viana do Castelo)
- Praia das Pedrinhas (Esposende, Braga)
- Praia do Castelo de Queijo (Porto)
- Praia do Furadouro (Ovar, Aveiro)
- Praia de São Jacinto (Aveiro)
- Praia da Costa Nova (Ílhavo)
- Praia da Murtinheira (Figueira da Foz, Coimbra)
- Praia da Cova de Alfarroba (Peniche, Leiria)
- Praia de Ribeira d’Ilhas (Mafra, Lisboa)
- Praia da Costa do Norte (Sines, Setúbal)
- Praia de Almograve (Odemira, Beja)
- Meia Praia (Lagos, Faro)
If you have not yet registered, you can do so now with this registration form.
Join us in protecting the seas and oceans!