Post-event press release: Sunday June 8th 2014 the Chennai Trekking Club (CTC) in association with The Hindu organized the 5th year edition of the Chennai Coastal Cleanup - a major awareness campaign on environmental conservation on the beaches from Marina till Panayur. 6200 volunteers from 150 Corporates, NGOs, colleges, schools and individuals collected and and segregated 50 tonnes of garbage: * Chennai beaches from Marina till Panayur: 4800 volunteers, 33 tonnes garbage * Chennai lakes: 250 volunteers, 8 tonnes garbage * 9 participating cities (beaches, lakes, rivers): 1250 volunteers, 9 tonnes garbage Out of the total collected volume of garbage: 32% plastics. 18% glass, 50% others. The Cleanup was inaugurated by Chennai Mayor Saidai Duraisamy at 6am at Eliot Beach. Our recycle partner Earth Recycler collected all the garbage from all zones and will be recycling 80% of the materials to minimize the materials that eventually moves to the garbage dump. The main objective of this initiative was to create more awareness among the general public against the use of plastics and reduction of our garbage footprint through segregation, recyling and reuse. To create awareness among a wider audience, the Coastal Cleanup is extended this year to 10 major cities in South India including beaches, lakes and rivers. We will cover Bangalore, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Pondicherry, Trichy, Vizag, Tirunelvelli, Kanyakumari, Tuticorin. CTC is collaborating with regional NGOs in these cities: Nellai Nature Club, Pearl City Nature Society, Thaneer, National Troopers for Conservation of Nature, Great Hyderabad Adventure Club, Mother Earth Environmental Consciousness Society, Prayukti, Socio Economic Development Association. The South India wide cleanup has been named operation India Clean Sweep and will expand to more cities next year. In Chennai the Cleanup was also extended to 3 lakes around the city - Madambakkam, Narayanapuram and Keezhkattalai lakes in collaboration with Environmental Foundation of India (EFI). EFI actively pursues restoration of lakes which are vital water sources for the city and are getting encroached due to the ever expanding real estate around the city. During the 1st week of June EFI performed street plays at various colleges and IT parks to create awareness on the deterioration of our environment. On Saturday evening June 7th the Bharathi Scouts group performed a mime streetplay at Eliot beach to sensitize the beach visitors. The Chennai Dive Club in association with Temple Adventures from Pondicherry and Tamilnadu Coastal Security Police dove into the sea off Besant Nagar and retrieved marine debris from below the sea to create awareness on the impact of pollution on marine life. Many turtles and fishes get entangled in old fishing nets dumped in the sea and die. In 2012 the Chennai Coastal Cleanup got into the LIMCA book of records as the quickest cleanup of the largest volume of garbage. Individual volunteers assembled in 10 different locations across the city and car pool together to 16 different beach zones where they were accompanied by the other participating groups. The cleanup started at 6am sharp and went on for about 3 hours. Volunteers were be given garbage bags, gloves and segregated garbage in three major categories - glass, plastics and others. Second and third level segregation will happen at the recycle partner to maximize recycling and reuse of the materials. Federal Bank sponsored cloth bags to all participating volunteers to create awareness on the non-use of plastic carry bags while shopping. There was also a signature campaign at all 16 zones where volunteers took a pledge against the use of plastics The Chennai Trekking Club is a non-profit volunteer based organization of people passionate about the outdoors and nature. With more then 21 thousand members it is one of the largest and most active outdoor groups in India. The group is active in environmental conservation including cleanups and tree plantations. CTC organizes the yearly Chennai Trail Marathon and Triathlons to create awareness on sports to instill an active and healthier lifestyle among youngsters. The group also organizes social treks for the less privileged in society. Web site: chennaitrekkers.org CCC FB Page: https://facebook/chennaicoastalcleanup5 CCC Hash tag: #ChennaiCoastalCleanup CCC Photo links: https://picasaweb.google/100915207983887498382/CCC5Media CCC Awareness posters: https://picasaweb.google/100915207983887498382/CCC5
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 09:44:26 +0000