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EPA pushes for adoption of beaches for a healthy ocean

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Taiwan’s EPA on Sunday called for the public to adopt beaches in Taiwan...

Taiwan’s EPA on Sunday called for the public to adopt beaches in Taiwan... (CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News)--Taiwan’s environmental protection authorities on Sunday called for the public to adopt beaches in Taiwan instead of launching hit-and-miss beach cleanup activities now and then, aiming to more effectively prevent beach trash from being washed into the ocean.

Environmental protection group Greenpeace arranged a vertical dance performance in front of the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Sunday to mimic swimming marine life and human beings, urging the public to reduce use of plastics and to control the pollution from the beginning.

EPA official Huang Wei-ming said that county and city environmental protection departments in Taiwan always called for the public to participate in one-time beach cleanup events in the past, whereas now the EPA is planning measures to replace occasional cleanup activities with adoption of beaches. It’s hoped that all the beaches in Taiwan, which total about 1,000 kilometers in length, will be adopted by businesses, religious groups, school classes or even groups of friends.

Huang said that the initial planning for the adoption is based on 10 meters per person, with larger groups being eligible for adoption up to 1 kilometer per group and smaller groups eligible for adoption up to 100 meters. The top 100 businesses in Taiwan are welcome to take the initial pledges to help turn the tide on ocean trash, he added.

EPA pushes for adoption of beaches for a healthy ocean

The EPA is also planning to set up beach adoption Facebook fan club page, on which adoptive teams can periodically post the results of their adoption in words and photos to document and display monthly or yearly changes they bring to the beaches, Huang said.

Moreover, the EPA is also planning to compare and assess the results of the adoption efforts against criteria including the amount of garbage cleaned, the degree of beach cleanliness and the degree of maintenance, Huang added.