Divers clean up
VOLUNTEERS from No Straws North Cyprus and almost 30 divers cleaned up Güzelyalı beach and sea on Sunday before a joint Tuesday clean-up of the historic site of Lambousa with three Russian activists and local municipalities.
Sunday’s activity was organised by popular local musician Ed Sezener of Cyprus Underwater Explorers to support the anti-plastic campaign and also enlisted the help of five people from fellow dive club Amphora.
He said: “Underwater we found shredded plastic bags, fibreglass pieces, glass bottles and cans and real turtle hazards like lengths of fishing line and tangled rope.
“We totally support No Straws North Cyprus and are also members of Project Aware, a global conservation organisation for divers to clean up the seas.”
No Straws North Cyprus spokesman Claire Morley said: “Our 20 landbased volunteers tracked west from the car park to a picnic area where we found full plastic bags just thrown over the wall full of masses of plastic cutlery, straws, plastic cups, used disposable nappies, cans and glass bottles.
“Worse still, we saw millions of plastic fragments the size of a 10 kuruş coin.
“People need to take their rubbish home with them and put it in their own dustbin.” Around a dozen hessian sacks donated by Con Coffee were filled, just two weeks after Lapta Municipality had mustered volunteers to clear the beach and sea of litter. A 20-stall market and live music at Sardunya Bay planned for afterwards was postponed at the last minute due to fears of spreading distemper from infected stray dogs in the area. Tuesday brought a multinational clean-up of land and sea near the ancient site of Lambousa. Ms Morley said: “Three Russian ladies have already cleaned up Camelot beach and others in the area and have now joined No Straws North Cyprus.” Diana Suyunshalina, Svetlana Shamatrina and Anna Mataras teamed up with No Straws volunteers and Alsancak and Lapta municipalities for the two-hour exercise which also saw British, Russian, Israeli, Polish, French, Kazakh, Belarus and Indian volunteers joined by the Alsancak and Lapta mayors. A spokesperson said that their aim was “not just to collect litter but to raise kids who would not leave other people to pick up their trash”.