COMMUNITY members set out across the island early Saturday morning to participate in the annual International Coastal Cleanup.
“It’s nice that everybody is coming out and helping — I’m very happy that everybody is participating,” said Eli D. Cabrera, Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality administrator.
Cabrera also participated in the cleanup, picking up trash with his team and other community members at Micro Beach.
“The coastal cleanup is an annual event that happens across the nation,” he said. “It’s a day for us to do our own island coastal cleanup. We have a lot of groups all over the island. I’ve seen a lot of people on the left and the right side of the highway. It’s nice to see people coming out to help.”
He added, “We invited a lot of schools to participate. There are a lot of groups that signed up. I’m very happy and thankful that everybody is taking pride in our islands. It’s nice to take ownership of this place and make it nice and clean and environmentally friendly, including for public health reasons. It’s also a great day for everybody to exercise.”
Cabrera expressed his gratitude to all participants in this year’s cleanup.
After the cleanup, trucks picked up the bags of trash and brought them to a transfer station to be weighed.
“We try to see how much trash we collect during each International Coastal Cleanup,” said Cabrera, noting that data collection results are anticipated to be released in the coming weeks.
Similar cleanups and data collection were conducted on Tinian and Rota.
“Littering has always been an issue. It’s all over the place. Please try to utilize trash bins, or bring your trash to the transfer station,” Cabrera said.
In 2021, the International Coastal Cleanup collected 4,360 pounds of trash on Saipan, 687 pounds on Tinian, and 1,032 pounds on Rota.
That year, 893 volunteers cleaned 42 locations on Saipan, 149 volunteers cleaned 10 locations on Tinian, and 532 volunteers cleaned 30 locations on Rota.
