Sandtastic '19

Sri Lanka’s coastal waters are a proud home to over 180 species of fish, five species of marine turtles that nest on beaches along the coast and 30 species of marine mammals including endangered species. Sri Lanka is also most fortune to have coral reefs which is the home to a quarter of marine species.

Despite all this exotic marine life around us, it's sad to say that Sri Lanka is the world’s fifth largest plastic polluter of the ocean with 1.6 million metric tons of plastic dumped into the ocean every year.

Plastic debris is fast becoming the greatest threat to oceans. Marine wildlife species are severely affected as they ingest plastic or are strangled by it. Since plastic is not biodegradable it remains in the marine environment for centuries, fragmenting into smaller pieces that accumulate on the sea floor and blocking the exchange of gases.

...

Plastic travels through the food chain, ultimately ending up in sea food destined for human consumption. Pollution also destroys the recreational value of beaches which is a foreign exchange earner. It affects the revenue and employment from tourism.

Above explained problems within the ocean environment are complex and interrelated and there is no single action that can provide a solution to such problems. Actions should be taken at global, national, sectoral and even at individual levels.

With that in mind, we, the Rotaract Club of University of Colombo, Faculty of Management and Finance joined hands with the Rotaract Club of Colombo East and the Interact Club of St. Peter’s College and carried out the project "Sandtastic '19." Through this project, we aimed to sustain the beach environment and the marine life in the famous coastal area of Mount Lavinia.

This project consisted of 2 phases. As the 1^st phase, we conducted a survey on the 20^th of April on seaside trash accumulation and its affects on the day-to-day lives of residents near the beach. According to them, the hotels near the beach are also responsible for the residue getting accumulated in the coast since they litter the beach after having certain events or functions.

...

They further mentioned that trash comes through some canals near the coast and cause the trash to get accumulated in the beach .We also learnt that the municipal council collects people personal garbage twice a week and beach trash once a week but on the days that the tractor doesn’t come people bury the trash. This trash is unearthed by the rain and ends up accumulated in the ocean, destroying marine life.

Those who don't bury, end up burning the trash instead - polluting air, water and land in the process. Needless to say, this toxic air, when inhaled by people, results in various respiratory diseases. And the toxic ash that remains is either blown away or mixed into the sand. We took measures to document these issues and forward it to the municipal council.

The 2^nd phase was a coastal cleanup conducted on 26^th of May along the coast of Mount Lavinia. Club members of all 3 clubs gathered on this Sunday afternoon to protect and preserve the coastal environment. They collected tons of plastic waste like water bottles, straws, yogurt cups and spoons, toffee wrappers along with glass bottles and items of clothing like slippers. For about 2 and half hours they picked up and unearthed waste which was then disposed by the municipal council.

Written by:

Adri Abeysekara
Member (2018/19)