Cleantech conducts beach clean-up campaign on World Environment Day

Cleantech, the environmental management arm of the Abans Group, recently collaborated with the Institute of Environmental Professionals Sri Lanka (IEPSL) to conduct an extensive beach clean-up campaign in honour of World Environment Day. Having taken place in June, the event focused on raising awareness of marine pollution and its deleterious impact on Sri Lanka’s world-famous beaches.

A team comprising of Cleantech and IEPSL members as well as volunteers from the public descended upon the Wellawatte coastline to perform the large- scale beach cleanup. Armed with black garbage bags, each individual worked to clear the region of the waste that regularly washes up on the country’s shores. The initiative recovered tons of debris and castoff items, with plastics encompassing 31.4% of the total. Eighty percent of the plastics found were PET bottles. This gave Cleantech the opportunity to educate the participants on the proper disposal of household plastic waste, and present recycling as an easy solution to preventing further beach pollution.

Remarking on this CSR initiative, H.S. Premachandra, IEPSL President, said: “It was a nice col- laboration. Professionals, service providers and regulators got together in front of so many beach users to give the important message that we should not pollute the environment. We should instead focus on preserving the health of our beaches for the future generation by consistently being conscious about our contribution towards plastic pollution, especially in marine environments. If each and every individual of our society inculcates more sustainable habits in their day-to- day activities, Sri Lanka would fast become a greener and cleaner nation. I deeply appreciate the excellent coordination and organisational support provided by AbansCleantech (Pvt) Ltd., who helped make this event a success.”

“Often we take pride in the fact that Sri Lanka’s beautiful beaches are renowned across the globe. But do we do our part in keeping these beaches clean? That’s why Cleantech felt the need to conduct this noteworthy initiative with IEPSL, and draw the public’s attention to how we as a nation can prevent damage to our coastal environment by performing responsible plastic waste management,” said Janaka Wijesekara, Head of Environmental Management, Cleantech (Pvt) Ltd.