Almost 1,700 volunteers scoured the five districts of Grand Cayman for the Chamber of Commerce 11th Annual Earth Day Roadside Clean-Up.
‘It seems that more and more people are finally recognising the imminent need to preserve our environment,’ commented Chamber President James Tibbetts, who assisted with the clean-up.
Wil Pineau, Kerry Pratt, Governor Stuart Jack, Joanne Diaz-Berry, James Tibbetts and Kennedy Powery.jpg |
‘The response we received from our corporate members and the community was remarkable and we are pleased that many of our residents share our vision for a cleaner, greener Cayman.’
Clean-up crews began their mission at 7am on Saturday, 19 April as a kick-off to Earth Week events, collecting garbage and debris. One or two members of each clean-up team were asked to collect glass bottles and take them to the National Trust for crushing. After the clean-up all volunteers were invited to attend a free lunch with planned environmental activities at Public Beach.
Governor Stuart Jack joined Chamber President Mr. Tibbetts and CEO Wil Pineau cleaning up along Seven Mile Beach. ‘We have three beautiful islands, and we should all do what we can to keep them beautiful and protect our environment. I was pleased to play a small part myself,’ said Governor Jack.
Following the clean-up, Governor Jack distributed Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Chamber of Commerce reusable bags at Public Beach to encourage residents to reduce the amount of plastic bags that enters the landfill and surrounding waters.
Miss Cayman Rebecca Parchment and Chris Weaver from Island Supply demonstrated the bottle crusher used at the National Trust. Several volunteers were able to operate the bottle crusher whilst the crowd listened to Mr. Weaver and Miss Cayman talk about the benefits of crushing our bottles.
The National Trust has asked for the community to take their empty bottles, without caps, to their office in Dart Park between 9am and 5:30pm. The National Trust is also seeking volunteers to spend half an hour during this time to help with crushing bottles.
Mise en Place provided lunch for the hungry volunteers in environmentally-friendly packaging sourced by Island Supply. Mr. Weaver was able to explain that the containers, made in China, were made of Bamboo pulp, which allowed them to be a cost-effective and environmentally responsible alternative to styrofoam.
‘This has been our most successful clean-up to date by far. I believe that the community has come to realise that the issues surrounding the environment are not going to go away by themselves. Everyone has to do their bit to help and the response to the clean-up is encouraging,’ said Chamber CEO Wil Pineau.
‘I have heard reports from some of our members of the kindness of the people in the community towards the volunteers that morning. One gentleman in Bodden Town stopped his car to donate some gardening gloves to a clean-up crew along the side of the road and volunteers in Rum Point and North Side were treated to a free lunch at the Rum Point Restaurant.
‘We all appreciate clean streets and beaches; we need to educate more people about disposing of their trash in the appropriate places.’
Related Videos
