200 kilos of waste were collected during coastal cleaning in Rize

Under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University (RTEU), İyidere District Governorate, İyidere Municipality and Fisheries Faculty Marine Ambassadors Group, and with the contributions of Lassa, a coastal cleaning event was organized at Sarayköy Beach with the slogan “Clean Sea, Clean World” to draw attention to plastic garbage and its environmental effects. .

As a result of an hour’s work from the shore, 200 kilograms of waste consisting of plastic, glass, water bottles and metal materials were collected.

RTEÜ Fisheries Faculty Lecturer Assoc. Dr. Ülgen Aytan told reporters that İyidere Beach is a monitoring station for them and that they have an idea about the damage and changes caused by plastics to the environment.

Stating that they find an increasing amount of single-use plastics in the region every year, Aytan continued his words as follows:

“All the garbage we find tends to decompose. They will be the micro and nano plastics of the near future. Foams are the plastics we find most on the beach. They are used in boxing and transporting fish, especially in the Black Sea. They are used as food packaging. They are used in various areas of life as all kinds of packaging and insulation materials. A “When a single foam object enters the sea, it separates into thousands, tens of thousands. Like a pomegranate, when one enters the sea, it quickly becomes ten thousand.”

Pointing out that plastics pose a great risk to the sea and human life, Aytan said, “Most of the plastics are endocrine disruptors and carcinogenic substances. In fact, whatever we send to the sea, everything returns to us as the final consumer through the food chain. Unfortunately, the Black Sea is a semi-enclosed sea.” “It is an unlucky sea in terms of plastic pollution, as it forms the drainage area of ​​a total of 22 countries, including 16 industrialized countries from Europe, through its rivers.” said.

Pointing out that rivers are important carriers, Aytan said, “They meet with water at the slightest precipitation. Even at the slightest precipitation, it is only a matter of time before it reaches the sea, especially in regions such as the Eastern Black Sea region where the slope is high and the precipitation regime is high. Our recent studies have shown that even with large and small streams, hundreds of rivers flow per hour.” “It shows that thousands of garbage with different contents have reached the Black Sea. This sea has a carrying capacity. These plastics will continue to release their chemicals into the water for centuries, interact with living things, and return to our tables.” he said.

İyidere District Governor Eray Gürsoy, Mayor Saffet Mete and students attended the event.