Zero Waste Future programme organises clean-ups and support turtle releases

The Zero Waste Future, a programme funded by The CocaCola Foundation, is an ambitious programme that aims to accelerate the behavioural change required to make the circular economy and recycling part of people’s hearts, minds and everyday routines.

To this end clean-ups of St Thomas Bay, Golden Bay and Hondoq ir-Rummien Bay were organised in collaboration with Ekoskola with the participation of six schools. Prior to this clean-up, students who participated in an educational session focused on raising more awareness regarding the impact that litter has on aquatic environment. Three turtles were released during these clean-ups and the Zero Waste programme sponsored the tracker placed on one of the turtles.

“It was inspirational to see students, guardians and teachers coming together to clean our environment. The Zero Waste programme uses a solution-based approach to educate and empower young people to create a more environmentally conscious society through ongoing educational campaigns in schools followed by meaningful actions such as this clean-up,” said Stephen Bonnici, Public Affairs and Communication manager at GSD Marketing Ltd.

During these clean-ups, more than 100kg of waste was collected from areas consisting of rocky coastline, sandy beaches and a public garden. The litter collected was catalogued on a standardised Ocean Conservancy data card and disposed of responsibly. The data will be analysed and will support the drafting of proposals on how to further eliminate marine litter.