The "My Sea" campaign carried out a Green Expedition focusing public attention on the problem of marine polluting waste. Members of the expedition each day inspected stages of 10 to 25 kilometers.
The cleanest beaches this year are Engure center beach, Laučakmens beach in Limbaži region, and Miķeļtornis beach in Ventspils municipality. The dirtiest are Majori Beach in Jūrmala with 1,098 waste units per 100 meters and Daugavgrīva beach with over 1,300 waste units.
The average measurement is 375 waste units per 100 meters, which is a very poor indicator, Ulme explained. “Human should not be equal to trash,” Ulme said.
The introduction of a deposit system has shown results on the beaches – this type of waste has almost halved. The most common waste units are cigarette butts, plastic food packaging, and foam containers. Plastic makes up 75% of all waste units.
The Green Expedition was launched at Ainaži-Kuviži and concluded at Pape-Rīga.
The “My Sea” campaign is carried out by the “Environmental Education Fund” foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development and local governments interested in coastal protection.
