INTERNATIONAL COASTAL CLEANUP “All Hands on Deck”

On Monday, September 12th, the Ministry of Tourism’s Sustainable Tourism Committee held a press conference at Williams Town Beach to enlist the support of the local community in earnest with the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup [ICC] initiative scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 17th, 2016.

Pictured from left: Jeffrey Pinder, Sustainable Tourism Committee Chairman, MOT; Olethea Zonicle, Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee; Lou Carroll, General Manager for Sanitation Services; Nakira Wilchcombe, Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee, Chairman.

The ICC, now in its 31st year, is a subsidiary of the Ocean Conservancy’s “Trash-Free Seas” initiative that focuses not only on collecting trash from the coastline, but recording what is collected to identify the source of the trash.

The 2016 International Coastal Cleanup is the largest single day in volunteer cleanups.

The Grand Bahama cleanup, comprising environmental partners from throughout the island and spearheaded by the Sustainable Tourism Committee, will begin at 8:30 a.m. and continue through to 10:30 a.m.

The cleanup will cover beaches from East to West, including South Riding Point, Barbary Beach, Discovery Bay, Fortune Beach, Silver Point Beach (east of Williamstown), Xanadu Beach, Lewis Yard coast, Lover’s Beach/Hepburn Town, Bottle Bay and the West End coast.

Jeffrey Pinder, Chairman of the Sustainable Tourism Committee, advised that, as in years past, the cleanup will be split into zones with designated captains to ensure that adequate numbers of volunteers are assigned to all of the beaches.

Pinder said that “It is important to have these types of cleanups as our trash is a threat to wildlife, health, food safety, and the tourism industry”.

Pinder also emphasized that all litter on the island will greatly impact sources of revenue and Bahamians must change the practice of leaving trash on the beach.

Lou Carroll, General Manager of Sanitation Services sharedthat “Cleanups send the right message when starting the conversation of keeping Grand Bahama pristine”.

Nakira Wilchcombe, representative of the Grand Bahama Port Authority and Keep Grand Bahama Clean Committee encouraged the wider community to make coastal cleanups a part of their lifestyle.

Sponsors for this year’s event include the Ministry of Tourism, Sanitation Services, the Grand Bahama Port Authority, Focal, Polymers Intl, BWA, GB Shipyard, Ministry of Education, and Pulse Ministries.

Personsinterested in participating in the 2016 International Coastal Cleanup on Grand Bahama Island this Saturday can contact Jeffrey Pinder at The Ministry of Tourism at 350-8600.

For more information, visit theOcean Conservancy’s website www.oceanconservancy.org, and download the app “clean swell” to monitor the activities during the cleanup.