Properties Look for Viable Alternative to Reduce Plastic Footprint
Treasure Island Resort and Vuda Marina have made a commitment to reduce and eliminate consumption of single use plastics.
This includes plastic straws, plastic bags, and take away containers and so on. Treasure Island Resort general manager Craig Powell made the remarks during the World Ocean Day 2018 celebration on the resort on Friday.
He said: “We are searching for viable alternatives to these products in a bid to reduce our plastic footprint.
“We need to make changes to our daily lives, make small decisions every day that can help to reduce the impacts on our ocean. “Say no to the straw in your drink, say no to plastic bags in the supermarket, dispose of trash properly, fish sustainably, tread lightly and protect our precious natural resources for future generations.” He added that there is a must to act now and to protect all aspects of our marine and coastal environments.
“Plastic pollution in our oceans threatens our marine life in so many ways:
“They say “if there is no blue there is no green” meaning that our existence on land is intrinsically linked to life in the oceans,” he said.
“Some scientists suggest that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean – something that is hard to imagine when we are blessed with such abundant marine life in Fiji.” Mr Powell said mangroves assist with coastal protection, provision of fisheries habitat and breeding grounds, and are a key part of healthy ocean ecosystems.
“The first is the importance of mangroves. Mangrove ecosystems are a critical component of our oceans and one that is facing serious threats.
“We often think of beautiful coral reefs and the challenges they face in today’s changing world, but the mangroves are often overlooked.”
The coastal cleanup was held on the foreshore of Viseisei village in Vuda which aims to highlight the rising problem of plastic pollution in our oceans.
The stakeholders of Treasure Island Resort guests and its staff, including Vuda Marina, the Nakelo Youth planted mangroves over 1000 seedling and hosted a coastal cleanup in Viseisei village to mark the event.