42.5% of Collected Marine Debris Identified as PET Plastics and Flip-Flops in ICS-Organised Beach Clean-Up on Desroches

The growing problem of marine debris accumulation on the Outer Islands was highlighted in a clean-up organised by our team on Desroches earlier this year.

An incredible total of 284.6kg of marine debris was collected in a beach clean-up on the island, in what has been recorded as the most amount of marine debris collected on one day on the island. This links to the growing global issue of human-made marine pollution, which continues to serve as one of the biggest threats to the world’s oceans. 

ICS teamed up with WiseOceans, Four Seasons Resort Seychelles at Desroches Island, the Islands Development Company (IDC), Blue Safari Seychelles and resort guests, to clean the 14km perimeter of the island. The clean-up was organised for the 4th June, during the week leading up to World Oceans Day (8th June).

An astonishing 80.1kg of plastic bottles and 41kg of flip-flops were the most remarkable figures from the mammoth sorting mission, with other categorised marine debris including: glass, polystyrenes and Styrofoam, mooring buoys, ropes and miscellaneous items. The 284.6kg of marine debris collected from this beach clean-up is 26kg more than the largest beach clean-up recorded on Desroches in 2018, indicating that the global problem of marine litter is as prevalent as ever.

Click here to read the full story, as reported earlier this month in The Nation.