From Plastic Free Cayman

Our team spent our time showing our beaches and ocean some kindness!

Plastic Free Cayman partnered with Jeep345, The Cayman Island Cadet Corps, CaymanEco, and Protect Our Future, for a Valentine’s Day clean up at Lovers Wall in East End on Sunday morning (8-10am). With PFC clean up coordinator Ms. Carina Ecclefield as lead organizer for the event, we had over 100 volunteers show up to remove over 1350 pounds of trash from our shores. 

Sadly, most of the debris collected was plastic and microplastics. In fact, it was noted that the smaller blowholes continually release bits of plastic with each cycle. This specific area was cleaned two years ago, but the general area seems to be getting worse with each passing year. 

Unfortunately, one syringe and vial of blood were also collected and directly delivered to Health City for proper disposal. Department of Health Regulatory Services was notified.  This is becoming a more regular occurrence. But what was much more surprising was the amount of bottlecaps that littered the shores, with the understanding that many of the bottles were probably sitting at the bottom of our seas. 

PFC founder Claire Hughes continues to push for a National Clean up campaign and plastic ban policy similar to what has been seen on other Caribbean islands. Sadly, with parliament dissolved, more time will be wasted in addressing this issue.

Data:

Total Volunteers: +100

Total Pounds of Trash removed: +1,350 lbs

Average Pounds per Volunteer:  13+ lbs

Quotes:

“Our Valentine’s clean up was a truly lovely experience and great way to spend the day. We were so happy to have such a large turnout of volunteers, ready to clean up our island! Our plastic fighting family and volunteers, over 100 strong, helped remove over 1300 pounds from Lover’s Wall today. The bottle caps and plastics were overwhelming here! With volunteers from all ages and backgrounds, we managed to do some serious good for our island! Thank you so much to Island Supply, A.L.Thompson, Stoak’d, And Island Waste Carriers for your continued support. Also thank you to the Cayman Islands Cadet Corps, Jeep345, CaymanEco, Protect Our Future, Lucky Slice and many more volunteer groups and individuals. Follow Plastic Free Cayman on Facebook or Instagram to hear about our March clean up!”  -Carina Ecclefield