Working together to take action against marine litter, the Delegation of the European Union (EU), United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) of the Ministry of Mahaweli Development and Environment cleaned up the Prithipura public beach in Wattala as part of Sri Lanka’s coastal clean-up week 2018.
International Coastal Clean-up Day on 15 September kick started a week-long series of beach clean-ups in Sri Lanka. Around 1.59 million tonnes of waste is released into the ocean around the island annually. Every year millions of tonnes of plastic end up in the ocean, ten percent of which is marine litter made up of derelict fishing gear. It takes hundreds of years for the plastic to degrade and disintegrate into tiny pieces known as microplastics which are unwelcome and dangerous guests in our food chain.
