Every year, at Pwani Oil, we participate in a coastal clean-up along the Indian Ocean shoreline in Kilifi. In just about three kilometres of beach, we routinely collect more than a tonne of non-biodegradable waste.
But what is perhaps most striking is the sheer variety of what we find. Flip flops, water bottles, cigarette butts, food wrappers, toys, phone chargers, fishing lines, broken household items and even discarded electronics all wash ashore. Unfortunately, the reality is that it just won’t stop; we clean this year and next year we return to find another tonne waiting for us.
It is difficult not to feel frustrated during these exercises. Every item we pick up tells the story of someone who purchased a product, used it briefly and then abandoned it without thought for where it would eventually end up. This makes the ocean effectively a dumping ground for habits we refuse to confront on land.
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