Exclusive clean-up at Dyno Beach
Thanks to a great collaboration with Hold Norge Rent and Oslofjordens Friluftsråd we were able to carry out a joint clean-up at the Dyno beach outside Oslo, Norway, and clean almost 400 kg of waste that had gone astray! We got an exclusive entry for the clean-up in the area which has been closed due to dynamite production in the early 1900’s and has been barred for civilians since 1917 — so did we find explosives or plastic waste? Read on!
On International Clean-up Day, both young and older volunteers joined our clean-up partners to clean the excessively polluted 2 km shoreline of the Dyno Beach and gathered 381,1 kg of waste. The cleanup cleared the local area of the pollution and had a global impact due to Empower’s solution!
Not only did we find a lot of plastic waste, such as polystyrene and other industrial and residual waste, but we also found a boat that was wasting away dumped in the nature. Results from Norwegian projects indicate that in the case of microplastics, tire wear is by far the most important source of emissions in Norway, followed by granules from artificial turf, paint, textiles and pellets from the production phase. This was abundant at the Dyno beach.
Most of the area at the Dyno Beach has been barred since 1917. The problem of waste pollution in the area is huge and there is still substantial need of several clean-up measures in the area. Plastic littering and other types of littering are prohibited by the Pollution Control Act, and consumers, business, industry and public agencies have various responsibilities to comply with and enforce the waste ban.
Thankfully, compared to the past, today’s society’s attitude to waste has changed, and the knowledge of harmful substances and environmental impact has fortunately come a long way. Studies show that more than 80% of the plastic in the ocean comes from land-based sources. Therefore, in order to help solve the global pollution problems associated with plastics, it should be an ambition for us to take greater care of our waste locally.
We greatly appreciated all the participants of the clean-up for their efforts and that they contributed to a global impact clean-up through Empower’s solution.
We were rewarded for our efforts with delicious barbeque and acoustic concert by Chris Medina thanks to Clean Sounds.
Just to assure you, luckily we did not find any explosives. But the huge amount of plastic waste is a serious reminder of the global problem we face. Being a global impact cleanup, we are happy that the outcome of this cleanup funds new cleanups with Empower internationally, with a local cleanup of 381 kgs and total global impact of 762 KGs. Join us at empower.eco to support further global cleanup of plastic waste.
International Coastal Cleanup Day (ICCD), on Saturday September 21 is one of the world’s largest annual preservation and protection events and volunteer efforts for our ocean and beaches. It is a global movement that encompasses over 6 million volunteers in 90 countries.
Keep the Autumn Clean (Hold Høsten Ren) is a nationwide clean-up event organized in September in conjunction with International Coastal Cleanup Day. In Norway, the campaign takes place September 16–22, in connection with the International Beach Cleanup Day which is Saturday September 21. Get more information here!
