A week after doing the first Micronesia Cleanup Day, the CNMI will be going out once more tomorrow, Sept. 21, to pick up trash, this time joining the rest of the world for the International Coastal Cleanup.<\/p>\n
With the theme \u201cHarnessing the Power of People to Fight Ocean Pollution,\u201d this year\u2019s ICC highlights the impact that even a small group of people has in cleaning their surroundings.<\/p>\n
The ICC is considered the world\u2019s largest single day cleanup event. Last year, the CNMI had 1,532 volunteers who cleaned over 50 locations and collected 9,180 lbs of trash. <\/p>\n
Colleen C. Flores of the Division of Coastal Resources Management and coordinator of the 2019 International Coastal Cleanup, said that many participants from last year will be participating again in this year\u2019s edition of the ICC. <\/p>\n
As part of ICC activities, picking up trash is just one aspect of the event; people are also collecting data on the kind of trash that they pick up. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs they [volunteers] go, for example, if they find 10 cigarette butts, they have to tally those cigarette butts,\u201d Flores said. <\/p>\n
The DCRM takes the data that the volunteers collect afterwards and input it into the world\u2019s largest ocean trash database, run by Ocean Conservancy. This data helps scientists and researchers come up with ways to mitigate and find solutions to the world\u2019s trash problem. <\/p>\n
Incidentally, in terms of quantity, cigarette butts hold first place among the trash collected in the CNMI\u2019s ICC. As for weight, though, DCRM reports that buoys, fishing gears, and large plastics, palettes or containers are the top collected trash. <\/p>\n
\u201cBased on our previous cleanups, we\u2019ve noticed that most of the marine debris on the west side of our island\u2014the Saipan lagoon\u2014are land-based sources of pollution. It\u2019s trash that come from the residents on the island,\u201d Flores said. \u201cBut on the east side, the backside of Saipan, most of that trash that we see are all washed up marine debris from elsewhere around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kiko Ignacio, a resident of Chalan Kanoa, believes that an island paradise like Saipan should be plastic-free. The ban on single-use plastic is currently being mulled in the CNMI Legislature.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want it to be late for this island. With all the things that are happening around the world that concerns the environment, the CNMI should be plastic-free,\u201d Ignacio said. \u201cSmall supermarkets should be told to go plastic-free and get rid of those small black plastic bags.\u201d
\nGov. Ralph DLG Torres calls on the community to take part in this year\u2019s International Coastal Cleanup. \u201cAs much trash as one can collect today, I\u2019m sure that we can go around again and do an even better job collectively the next day. So I encourage everybody to participate tomorrow and in other future cleanups.\u201d <\/p>\n
For those interested in joining the International Coastal Cleanup tomorrow, sign up at dcrm.gov.mp or contact Flores at cflores@dcrm.gov.mp. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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