Earlier this year, the Taipei Times published an editorial highlighting the severity of environmental pollution caused by plastic waste and the harm it has not only on aquatic life but on us as well, since plastic residue eventually enters our food chain (“Nation engulfed in plastic tsunami,” Jan. 9, 2015). Now that summer is here, it’s important to keep this in mind and refrain from littering as we head out to the beach — and for those of us who really want to get involved in keeping the coast clean, there will be a beach clean-up on Sunday morning by the Toucheng river mouth (頭城河出海口) in Yilan County (宜蘭).
Organized by Love Your Coast Taiwan — a Facebook community consisting of individuals and local businesses such as Rising Sun Surf Inn, Bottle Shop Taiwan and Lian Kuai Co (連岡股份有限公司) collaborating to organize monthly clean-ups — the goal is simple: pick up rubbish, meet new people and take a dip in the ocean afterward to cool off.
“We’re trying to make the clean-ups really safe, fun and easy for people to take part in,” Duncan Gibb from Love Your Coast Taiwan told the Taipei Times. “Providing snacks and refreshments for people should make it much more enjoyable.”
Photo Courtesy of Love Your Coast Taiwan
Although the places on the bus from Taipei to Toucheng provided by Lian Kuai Co for the event have already filled up, it’s still cheap and easy to get to Toucheng on your own via the train from Taipei Main Station (台北車站) or public bus from Taipei City Hall Bus Station (市府轉運站). Commute times for both options are slightly over an hour and cost around NT$100.
There will also be an after-party in Taipei at the Bottle Shop on Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路) which serves thirst-quenching craft beers including citrusy IPAs and blonde ales.
“The after-parties are a nice way for people to be able to relax with a cold drink after a hard day’s work,” Gibb adds.
Photo Courtesy of Love Your Coast Taiwan
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
In April, Love Your Coast Taiwan held their first clean-up in Double Lions beach in conjunction with the Waiao Seafood, Blues and Brews festival. Since then, the number of participants has been steadily increasing and they are expecting more than 50 people to take part in Sunday’s clean-up. Gibb says that the turn-up at their last two events has been a good mixture of Taiwanese plus expats hailing from many different countries.
Utilizing the resources provided by Love Your Coast — a project initially launched by a couple of New Zealand-based non-profits to help people around the world look after their beaches — Love Your Coast Taiwan aims to raise public awareness of environmental pollution through data collection and analysis.
Photos Courtesy of Love Your Coast Taiwan
Gibb says that while it’s still too soon to provide substantive results from the data they’ve gathered, it’s evident that plastic bags, bottles and food packaging is washing up on beaches around Taiwan. This is worrisome because plastics can be full of toxins which will end up in our food chain.
“Taiwan has a truly amazing coastline and some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, and many beaches are already carefully looked after by local communities,” Gibb says.
The problem is not so much caused by littering at the beach, he adds, but rather, “rubbish that is dropped in cities and towns, for example, makes its way via drains, streams and rivers into the sea and then some washes back up on the shore.”
So far, the clean-ups have generated positive media coverage. This in part is due to the efforts of well-known public figure and outspoken environmental activist Hsieh Hsin-hsuan (謝昕璇), who has been creating artistic photographs to draw attention to the cause. In addition, Love Your Coast Taiwan is working on producing video content to further highlight the issue.
Finally, Gibb says they are also looking to collaborate with other events in the future — something which he believes would help generate more interest in the cause.
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