Almost two tons of marine litter collected from the beaches and riverside areas of Esposende

The environmental volunteering action carried out by the Municipality of Esposende, through the municipal company Esposende Ambiente, on the 1st and 2nd of April, allowed the collection of around 1.94 tonnes of waste on the coast and riverside areas of the municipality.

The action had the participation of about 650 volunteers, both from the municipality and from other locations, who carried out the cleaning of several points of the coast, from the northern limit of the municipality, in Foz do Rio Neiva, in Antas, to Praia da Ramalha, in Apúlia, in an extension of close to 15 kilometers, and which covered about 65% of the coast of Esposende.

On the first day, students, teachers and guardians from the Kindergarten in Cepães, the Professional School in Esposende, the António Rodrigues Sampaio Basic School, the Henrique Medina Secondary School in Esposende and the Barcelos Secondary School participated, having collected waste from the sand and dunes on the beaches of Belinho, Mar, Rio de Moinhos, Cepães, Ramalha and the riverside area of Esposende, in the Cávado estuary. On the 2nd, the beaches, dunes and riverside areas of the municipality of Esposende were filled with volunteers, who dedicated a few hours of their weekend to the environment.

This environmental volunteering action was developed within the scope of the E-Redes project and the Blue Flag program for 2022 and, in addition to the City Council, Esposende Ambiente and Associação Rio Neiva, respectively, promoter and partners of the E-Redes project, also had the collaboration and participation of educational and teaching establishments, the North Coast Natural Park, Antas Parish Council, Esposende, Marinhas and Gandra Parish Union, Apúlia and Fão Parish Union, Esposende Nautical Station, ACICE - Commercial and Industrial Association of Esposende, Group of Marine and Esposende Scouts, surf and kitesurf schools in the county (Onda Magna, Element Fish, GKS Clube, Salt Flow and Esposende Surf Team), AssoBio Association, Mais Esposende Civic Association , Associação Rio Terra e Mar, Association of Municipal Workers (ADCRSME), Futebol Clube das Marinhas and Gandra Futebol Clube, and several volunteers who, individually, wanted to m make its contribution to improving the quality of the county's beaches

These actions are intended to alert the population to the problem of waste on beaches and oceans, reduce the impact of single-use plastics on the marine environment, contribute to the preservation of the habitats covered and encourage environmental volunteering among citizens.