Media Release

Mangaluru, Sep 14: The 10th grade students of Manipal School ushered in September by organizing an early morning beach clean-up on the first Sunday of the month.

This activity was taken up during the Swachhata Pakhwada under the Behtar India Campaign the school has enrolled for. So armed with posters, big collection bags, gloves and large doses of enthusiasm, nearly 50 students and 10 teachers under the leadership of the principal Anuradha Shivaram set off for Sasihithlu beach in two school buses in the morning.

The students were divided into groups with specific tasks. There was glass group, non-degradable group, bio-degradable group, a group for entertainment and refreshments and the documentation group. As soon as they reached the beach they split up into their respective groups and set off to work. Some had SLR cameras to document the activity, other students had brought along poster paint, brushes and paper to write slogans. These were hung up on trees around the area, asking beachgoers to be mindful of not littering the beach.

Most of the students never imagined they would dredge up so much rubbish from the sand and grassy area near the shore so they were in for a rude shock when all the large bags they brought filled up in record time.

Glass and plastic bottles, plastic bags shredded into strips, numerous plastic cups and disposable cutlery thrown into the undergrowth, rusted metal wires, hundreds of sweet wrappers, broken thermocol probably brought in from elsewhere by the high tide and a large number of used diapers with their gel stuffing coming out were found close to the water.

Flotsam and jetsam that normally contains organic marine debris were found clumped on the beach, but most of it was nylon ropes, broken bottles and other non-biodegradable waste.

Just an hour into the clean-up operation, nearly 15 large bags were full and the students had to stop the activity. Breakfast had been arranged for them at a near-by temple after which the group headed back to the city.

It is believed that there are trillions of tonnes of plastic waste swirling in our oceans and each day, more is being thrown in. This has had a devastating effect on marine ecosystems across the world. Although the activity done by the students of Manipal School (and other schools worldwide) was nothing more than a cosmetic solution to the problem, it was still a big sobering step towards educating them about the global problem of pollution and the effect it has on the environment.