Samoa Conservation Society (S.C.S.), Global Shapers Apia Hub and the Apia Yacht Club are co-hosting a coastal clean-up day at Mulinu'u on Saturday from 9.30am to 12.30pm.

S.C.S. President James Atherton, who is currently in Australia, told the Samoa Observer that reducing waste is important and cleanups are some of the simplest ways to address waste management. 

"Clean ups are important but even more important is to reduce waste at source by considering our use of single-use products such as plastic bottles, plates etc and to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible," he said.

Mr. Atherton added that if more people became aware of how long waste lasts in the environment and its impact then maybe there would be less littering. 

However, the local environmentalist admitted that there are no easy solutions to the issue.

"But considering product packaging, avoiding single use products (for example plastic bottles, food containers) avoiding littering and recycling as much as possible all help," he said. 

"It would be great if all major events in Samoa were plastic free. We try at S.C.S to have plastic free events too. For example, food served in mailo (coconut leaf woven plates), no water bottles, only niu (coconut) and so forth." 

The S.C.S. Threatened Plant Conservation Coordinator, Aloma Black, said there has been a build-up in rubbish in the area including at sea which can make it a challenge for marine species. 

"Our S.C.S. office is based at Mulinu'u and we would go for a walk after work and notice that there was a lot of rubbish littering the coast," she said. 

"The Apia Yacht Club is also based at Mulinu'u and the sailors see the waste floating on the sea amongst the fish and turtles and drifting towards the seawall." 

According to Ms. Black, the participating organisations wanted to make a change, so they jumped at the opportunity when the International Coastal Clean-up Day grant offered by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (S.P.R.E.P.) became available.

"When we saw the International Coastal Cleanup Day grant opportunity from S.P.R.E.P. Commitment to Sustainable Waste Actions in the Pacific project and the Pacific Ocean Litter Project (P.O.L.P), we knew we could do something about the coastal waste around Mulinu'u," she said. 

"We partnered up with the Global Shapers Apia Hub who have a commitment to support environmental initiatives and formulated this event. 

"We will collect rubbish and then conduct a waste audit, where we will measure exactly how much of each kind of waste we collect along the Mulinu'u coast, so we can make informed conclusions about the action that is needed for policy and prevention.

"There is a lot of rubbish that is not easily seen under the waters surface and rock seawall that we all contribute to. We hope to draw attention to the high levels of waste that mars our coast and encourage the public to change their behavior towards littering."

Having rubbish bins in popular sites for visitors can also help the public dispose of their rubbish, according to Ms. Black. 

"We also hope for more public rubbish bins in popular areas so that visitors to these sites can have options for how they dispose of their waste," she said. 

 “This event is so important because our collection area will cover to the mangroves around the peninsula."

 Manuia Lameta-Brown, who is the Global Shapers Apia Hub Secretary, added that people cannot see the severity of the Mulinu'u coastline's littering crisis unless they are at sea.

"The natural mangroves around Mulinu'u coast are obscured from pedestrians and the road so it hides the severity of the litter problem in the area that you can only see from the sea," she said.