More than 3,000 volunteers are expected to hit the beaches, parks and roadsides of the Cayman Islands on Saturday in the annual Earth Day clean-up organised by the Chamber of Commerce.
The Chamber’s events and training coordinator Emily Sintorn told the Compass on Tuesday that record numbers have already registered to take part in the clean-up, the theme of which is ‘Planet Vs Plastics’.
“The registrations are going really, really well,” she said. “So far, we’ve had more than 150 teams sign up, so there’s going to over 3,000 people taking part.”
The target had been 2,000 volunteers, she said, so the level of interest among the local community has been very high this year.
The volunteers will be in place all across Grand Cayman, from as early as 6am.
Participants will be given garbage bags and gloves, as well as T-shirts and tote bags while supplies last. They can pick those up at the Chamber’s office at Governors Square until Thursday evening, 25 April.
Acting locally
Organisers say that, by acting locally, Cayman can set an example for the region and the world.
“The threat of plastic pollution has become increasingly apparent for the future of ecosystems all over the world – particularly in the Cayman Islands where marine wildlife is threatened,” the Chamber said in a press release. “Animals that inhabit Cayman’s beautiful coral reefs may ingest floating plastic items. Turtles are known to mistake plastic bags for jellyfish – one of their favorite foods.
“Microplastics are known to pose a risk to wildlife and human life too.”
Earth Day was observed on Monday, 22 April.
Among the groups that will be cleaning up this year is the Pink Ladies organisation, which usually targets the George Town Barcadere area.
Nancy Whitefield, a Pink Ladies member, told the Compass she finds it disheartening that so much garbage ends up in beautiful natural areas of Cayman, describing a mangrove area by the North Sound Golf Club where she often finds people’s litter.
She did her own mini-clean-up last week, filling a large garbage bag with leftover food containers and other rubbish that was lying around, on the edge of the mangroves.
“It’s difficult to understand the psyche of people who go there, I assume, because they appreciate the view out to sea, but don’t care enough to take their garbage home with them, and throw it in the sea,” she said.
To encourage people to place their rubbish in a bin if they won’t take it home, the Pink Ladies group plans to erect a pink-coloured area that will hold garbage containers over the weekend.
Businesses doing their bit
The Chamber says several of its business members, large and small, are doing their bit, with in-house recycling programmes, the use of electric vehicles, or the incorporation of many energy-efficiency measures and renewables into new or existing buildings.
One of those companies, and a sponsor of the clean-up, Cayman National, explained in the release why it wanted to support Earth Day, and why it believes that being good corporate citizens means being good stewards of the environment.
Karen Ebanks, vice president of marketing and communications at the bank, said it had sponsored ‘Green Tips’ radio commercials, made in partnership with the National Trust and featuring the kids from Protect Our Future, and would also be planting 50 trees in celebration of the bank’s 50th anniversary.
Registration for the annual clean-up is free, and the Chamber has been encouraging businesses, community groups and schools to organise teams and select a location to tidy up.
For further information about the Chamber Earth Day clean-up and how to help, contact Emily Sintorn at 743-9126 or [email protected]. Teams can register to take part in the clean-up by clicking here.
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