Dozens of volunteers collected around 400 kilos of rubbish from Funchal beaches on Friday and Saturday, both by land and sea, the association that organized the initiative revealed today.
The initiative is part of the ecoRoute project, which in Madeira is represented by the Center for Studies in Modern and Contemporary Archaeology (CEAM).
In a statement, the association indicates that on Friday, cleaning took place between Toco and Lazareto beaches, “a place of great historical relevance for the city of Funchal, located on the edge of the Garajau Partial Nature Reserve, one of the maximum exponents of good environmental preservation practices”.
Volunteers collected mainly by sea, between 10:00 and 12:00, in order to collect rubbish on beaches inaccessible by land.
Around 50 people participated in this action and around 270 kilos of “various waste, including plastics, metals and abandoned fishing gear” were collected.
On Saturday, the underwater cleaning of Praia do Forte de São Tiago took place, also between 10:00 and 12:00.
The volunteers — scuba divers and freedivers — collected underwater waste resulting from human activity between Fort São Tiago and Barreirinha Beach.
According to CEAM, 18 volunteers were involved, who collected around “140 kilos of various waste, including tires, plastics and abandoned fishing gear”.