Some fifty people took part in the waste clearing exercise on the Nova Icària beach on Saturday, organised by BSM and the Fundació Climent Guitart
Open to everybody, the clean-up mainly collected plastics and wipes from the sand and the water
Organised by BSM and the Fundació Climent Guitart, the first Barcelona edition of the Plogging Congress concluded by inviting people to take part in a cleaning exercise on the Nova Icària beach, by the Port Olímpic.
With the help of Bluewave Alliance, ISDIN and Caser Grupo Helvetia, the clean-up brought together fifty volunteers who combed the sand, the water and the seabed in search of any type of waste from 10 am to 12 noon.
In addition to the volunteers, the clean-up also involved members from the Centre Municipal de Vela (CMV), the Barcelona Diving Club, the Club Esportiu Mossos d’Esquadra (CEME) and other organisations.
An initial estimate put the volume of waste collected at 168 kilos, mainly plastics, plastic bottles and wipes. A supermarket trolley was one of the most surprising objects found.
“Actions like this highlight the urgent need to change the global model”, said David Serrano, corporate director of ESG and Integrated Management Systems at BSM. “We need to embrace materials with a minimal environmental impact, reuse more and be fully aware that bags, bottles or plastic lids that end up in the sea or in nature take between 10 and 450 years to disintegrate, polluting the environment in the process”.
The event culminated with a new edition of Dissabte Blau, the Port Olímpic’s family festival. The festival included free sea-inspired workshops and activities for all ages, plus a show by Xaxi Xixarrus offering music, dance and laughter.
Two days of analysis and reflection on the state of the Barcelona coast and the Mediterranean
With this clean-up exercise, the Plogging Congress, organised by BSM and the Fundació Climent Guitart, rounded off two days of analysis and reflection on sustainability and marine pollution. In its first Barcelona edition, the event was held at the new Port Olímpic, a role model for sustainability with a strong commitment to regenerating marine biodiversity.
During the first day, held on Friday in the Sala Mestral at the Port Olímpic, some sixty science and sustainability professionals, as well as companies and organisations, shared their expertise regarding the current state of the Barcelona coast and the Mediterranean in general, and the effects of marine pollution
