A scene during the clean-up exercise.
SIMPSON BAY–International Liquors and Tobacco Trading (ILTT) in collaboration with St. Maarten Nature Foundation and Clean Sint Maarten collected 454 pounds of trash and debris during a clean-up on Simpson Bay Beach on Saturday, September 1.
The majority of the trash collected over the three-hour period included zinc, bottles, straws, cigarette butts and other household items that ILTT said in a press release must have ended up on the beach during the passing of Hurricane Irma in September last year.
The clean-up was organised in an effort to “clean and conserve our beautiful Simpson Bay Beach,” ILTT said.
Volunteers included Nature Foundation’s volunteer team, ILTT staff and members of the Simpson Bay community. “It was great to see everyone all joined so actively to help clean up for the good cause,” ILTT said in the release.
The cooperation between ILTT and Nature Foundation was effortless. “The Nature Foundation aims to preserve and enhance the natural environment of St. Maarten. We thought it was the perfect organisation to assist us with executing such an event. They were able to source all volunteers with proper equipment such as reusable gloves and garbage bags. They also invited many volunteers with great experience in beach clean-ups,” the release said.
While cleaning up the beach, volunteers were offered free Heineken beer and FIJI water sponsored by ILTT. The empty FIJI water bottles were collected and handed over along with other reusable plastics to Art Café on Front Street. Art Café will use the plastics and recycle them for an upcoming art project.
All participants made the clean-up as successful as it was. “With everyone working together, the accomplishments you can achieve are endless,” ILTT said in the release. It thanked Nature Foundation, Clean Sint Maarten SWM and Chilly Willy for their contributions.
“With hopes that we can teach more of our community the importance of keeping our island and beaches waste-free, we will execute another beach clean-up on September 15. This time we will focus on cleaning up the Grand Case Bay Beach on the French side of St. Martin.”
ILTT said it has been able to partner with additional sponsors such as Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC), the Collectivité of Saint-Martin and Kooyman. “Our aim is to get more of the local community involved in the beach clean-ups, as we are the residents living on the island and making the most use of it. We really want to bring forward the importance of our community reducing unnecessary waste,” ILTT said.
Persons interested in volunteering in the second clean-up can send an email to
francine.chance@illt-sxm.com or call tel. 580-8098.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/80301-iltt-partners-collect-454-pounds-of-trash-from-simpson-bay-beach
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