Three tons of trash collected by group "Keep Bermuda Beautiful"in just two days

More than 100 people congregated at 18 points across Bermuda recently, collecting more than three tons of trash dumped on the island.

It was part of a global marine clean up mission coordinated by Ocean Conservancy, which saw close to half a million people take to the oceans and the shores to collect the mess tossed away by members of disposable societies the world over.

The volunteers from environmental organization Keep Bermuda Beautiful were out in force at sites including Jew's Bay, Mangrove Bay and Shelly Bay. As they collected trash they filled out data cards which will continue to be collected after future clean ups until the middle of October to get an idea of what Bermudians are throwing away into the environment and how the island compares to other countries.

Feedback will be given to manufacturers and waste disposal organisations about how their waste is taken care of and how we can find solutions for Bermuda; one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

According to KBB Executive Director Richard Lathan one of the main causes of pollution in Bermuda is the casual throwing away of rubbish by people in the streets and on the beaches. Fly tipping is also a major problem on the island despite a forward-thinking government scheme to collect larger household goods for free.

The fly tipping hotspots in Bermuda include Lodge Point Lane in Somerset, Vesey Street in Devonshire, the railway trail at Southampton and a new site called Aoelia Drive opposite the entrance to Tynes Bay.

Mr. Lathan said that up to 80 per cent of the household goods found by KBB could have been collected through the government scheme but that bizarrely Bermudian people are not taking advantage of it tending to pay private companies to do the work. Mr. Lathan suspects that these very companies might have a hand in the fly tipping itself.

"If you pay to have something removed from your house it might wind up elsewhere or just being dumped back into the environment," he explained. "We have reason to believe that some of these private companies may be involved and we'd like to expose some of them. There are a couple of plans in the works and one suggestion is to video certain sites.

"Another suggestion is changing the way the truckers get paid to take things and deposit things so when they pick it up in order to get paid they have to have a ticket showing that they deposited the stuff at the appropriate places."

Among the initiatives Mr. Lathan would like to see introduced in Bermuda is the enforcement of mandatory recycling across all businesses which are not included in the government's collections.

"Currently they have to pay for their own recycling and businesses are trying to figure out how is it worth it for them which is a legitimate question. If the government says it is mandatory that means government would have to take an active role in assisting."

Mr. Lathan highlighted a lack of dumpsters near the docks to cater for the boating community. Over a six-week period around Cup Match KBB took half a ton of rubbish brought to the shore by boaters who had nowhere else to put it.

KBB plans to help increase awareness about Bermuda's environment through a series of town hall meetings which will take place regularly over coming months.

Mr. Lathan said: "We believe that dialogue is the beginning of awareness and hopefully we can move forward."

The Ministry of Works and Engineering was unavailable for comment as the Bermuda Sun went to press.

Bermudian dive site a shocking mess - journalist helps with marine clean-up

Bermuda Sun journalist and keen diver Sarah Lagan took part in a Marine Clean-up recently, helping that online daily create a new series.

It's an example of how we as a newspaper can provide practical, hands-on help. We plan to highlight 'green' innovations and explain the connection between careful stewardship of our environment and the quality of our lives.

In these worrying economic times, questions about natural resources, the use of fuel and how it affects the price of everything from our breakfast cereal to our daily bus ride, have never been more relevant to ordinary people.

Back in July we launched Going Green, a monthly advertising supplement, to provide a focal point for local firms. We want to bolster that innovation with regular news, business and lifestyle stories that have a strong environmental flavour.

Before I moved to Bermuda in July as a newly qualified scuba diver keen to test new waters I never envisaged going on a dive like the one I did with Keep Bermuda Beautiful on Saturday. Just off the launch ramp at Ship's Wharf in St. David's we met with John Trimingham, owner of Peppercorn Moorings. He generously donates his modest barge, aptly named the Maid of Plywood, for clean up missions on a regular basis.

Climbing aboard I got kitted out in my dive gear, also donated for free by Blue Water Diving, along with KBB executive director Richard Lathan and a second volunteer Ken Robinson. Richard and Ken took the first dive down to get an idea of what was lying on the seabed and what could be brought up.

The sad thing that emerged was that the majority of items down there were too big for us to bring up on the day. But in this ten-minute mapping exercise Richard brought up a large, rusting battery and dumped it on the barge. Keen to get a look at the site myself I jumped into the water and descended around 15 feet to the bottom following behind Ken. Because of the water movement so close to the shore, sand was everywhere and I could barely see my hand in front of my face.

Keeping hold of a line we made our way across the seabed for around 30 feet into the open water before coming across another large battery which we attached to a rope and pulled to the surface. I was quite surprised because apart from the battery and sand it was relatively clear of debris.

It wasn't until we started diving closer to the dock that the true extent of the pollution became clear. We descended back down and within just a small area there were a couple of large powerboat engines and other mechanical equipment, a couple of tyres that were probably used as fenders on a boat and two large barrels one full of concrete previously used as a mooring.

Most of the stuff had either sunken into the sand or was just too heavy to bring up but we did manage to hook up one of the tyres and another battery. I decided to go and explore by myself as close to the dock as I could get and was amazed to see the amount of household trash that had been dumped there.

There was a porcelain toilet, a patio umbrella, cups, plates, bottles all merging into the seabed. I could have spent hours bringing the smaller items up but Richard said he'd take large baskets next time as well as some heavy duty hooks for the larger stuff.

Although we didn't come out of the dive with tons of rubbish I certainly came out with a heavy heart knowing how little regard some people have for their marine environment. I'd like to go along to the next clean up at the site to see the real action.