Cleansea - 100 for the Ocean
One of Europe’s most littered areas is here in Bohuslän, Sweden. If you look out from there – or from any of Sweden’s coasts – you can be sure there’s always something there. Even if you don’t always see it. Namely, plastic.
The reason why so much debris ends up here is the ocean currents and prevailing winds, with the west coast receiving several hundred tons of debris annually from all over the world.
Every hour, 5 bathtubs of plastic wash up on the Bohuslän coastline. 94% of seabirds in the North Sea have plastic in their stomachs, and millions of marine animals die every year. And by 2050, we are expected to have more plastic than fish in the sea.
Since 2019, CleanSea has carried out more than 380 cleanups on different beaches and removed over 44,000 kg of marine litter. They have now identified the 100 worst bays on the west coast. Bays that are particularly vulnerable due to ocean currents. They have now started the project “100 For The Ocean”, and will get 100 different companies to “adopt” one bay each. Together we will make a huge contribution to Sweden’s west coast!
In collaboration with CleanSea – we at TanumStrand have “adopted” a bay – GLIKILEN in Grebbestad – where we support Cleansea in their work to clean beaches.
CleanSea’s goal is to make a difference for marine wildlife by creating a future for our oceans full of life, not plastic. They do this by removing harmful litter from the sea and coastline in Bohuslän, Sweden in particular. CleanSea cleans both along the coastline and on the seabed, but also on the surface in popular harbors and even out on islands.
The reason for focusing on Bohuslän is that Bohuslän is a “high impact area” for marine plastic in Europe and the ocean currents bring this amount here. 80% of the marine plastic in Bohuslän comes from countries other than Sweden.
The CleanSea project is funded through the sale of CleanSea bracelets, picking up 1 kilogram of marine litter for every CleanSea bracelet purchased, as well as through support and other financial sponsorship.
You can help too!
Last beach cleaning – Sep 10, 2024:
Story from the team:
The team went to Gliskilen to clean the area on Tuesday 10/9, a really windy but beautiful day! It was quickly apparent that a lot of new rubbish had washed up since we last cleaned here. As usual, we found a lot of disposable plastic such as bags, packaging, food packaging and plastic bottles. Also a lot of ropes from the fishing industry. Some special finds were a box from the fishing industry with French text, a toilet seat, jacket, and a Donald Duck toy. Some of the plastic looked like it had been in the sea for a long time, such as a plastic canister that was very fragile and quickly broke apart when pressed. In total, we collected 61 kg of trash that came off the coastline and the ocean through this cleanup. A really good cleanup!
March 20, 2024:
Story. from the team:
The team went out on cleanup 20/3, a cloudy spring day. It quickly became clear that the recent windy weather had washed up lots of plastic in Gliskilen. There was plastic basically everywhere along the coastline, and far into the reeds. The team spent almost 6 hours collecting all the plastic, filling 8 bags with the debris that washed up! Lots of disposable plastics and packaging such as bottles, food packaging, boxes and bags. But also a lot of ropes and fishing equipment. This time we also found a lot that could be identified from far away countries, including butter packages from Denmark, “Dairy Milk” from the UK, and a bottle of “Chlorine monitor” liquid. But the most interesting was a boat that had washed up on the coastline, probably broken loose and drifted up here. In total, 116 kg of debris was collected during this cleanup + this boat, which will now be removed from the coastline and the sea around Gliskilen. In summary, a fantastic cleanup!
