LIHU‘E — The O‘ahu-based nonprofit group Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i is on island through Monday to perpetuate its mission of “inspiring local communities to care for their coastlines.” Lauren Adelman of SCH said the nine-person crew will be carrying out two
LIHU‘E — The O‘ahu-based nonprofit group Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i is on island through Monday to perpetuate its mission of “inspiring local communities to care for their coastlines.”
Lauren Adelman of SCH said the nine-person crew will be carrying out two primary objectives during their visit — managing the recycling efforts during today’s MayJah RayJah concert in Lihu‘e and co-hosting the “Mayjah Beach Cleanup” with Surfrider Kaua‘i Saturday at Hanalei Bay.
The beach cleanup begins at 3 p.m. at the Hanalei Bay Pier. A barbecue pa‘ina and kanikapila jam session will immediately follow at 5:30 p.m., with Sashamon performing.
“What we want to emphasize is it’s not just a beach cleanup, it’s a gyre cleanup,” Adelman said. “A lot of the marine-based trash is actually coming from the gyre.”
The North Pacific Gyre is the site of what is commonly known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean between the coast of California and Hawai‘i, according to nationalgeographic.com.
Adelman said a lack of trash bins and public responsibility have also added to the amount of land-based trash around Hanalei Bay.
“It’s a time to meet the community and spread what we are doing in a casual way,” he said. “We’ll give a premise of who we are, why we do what we do and talk about why we’re so excited to be on Kaua‘i and spreading the message and the responsibility we should all have instilled within us.”
The cleanup is open to the public and all ages are welcome to participate. Volunteers are asked to meet at 3 p.m. at the Hanalei Bay Pier, where they will be provided with all the materials needed for safe rubbish removal. SCH will give out prizes for winners of a treasure hunt.
During the barbecue, SCH will thank volunteers and encourage community interaction regarding the problem of marine debris and overuse of single-use plastics. Members of Save Hanalei Ridge and Surfrider Kaua‘i will be on site to help organize and educate volunteers.
Following the cleanup, SCH will work with local recycling programs to ensure as much of the debris collected is diverted from the landfill as possible.
One of SCH’s major priorities is reducing single-use plastics, according to Adelman.
“This is actually the second chapter of Sustainable Coastlines,” she said. “The original was started in New Zealand. … We are definitely planning on expanding to other islands.”
Since its establishment in January 2011, more than 4,000 SCH volunteers have collected more than 30,000 pounds of marine debris from Hawai‘i’s coastal areas. One-hundred percent of donations go to support beach cleanup efforts, coastal advocacy and community education.
For more information about Sustainable Coastlines Hawai‘i visit www.schawaii.com.
