It's a chilly November day in Gothenburg's northern archipelago. The leaves have fallen and the coastline lies open. There, among the bushes and rocks, are the traces of a problem that grows every year - plastic that does not belong in nature.
The other day, the CleanSea team was out on Norra Öckerö, one of the two bays that Speed has adopted in our collaboration. They had already cleaned up here last summer, but now that the vegetation had disappeared, it became clear how much litter was left. Layers of plastic in the soil, hidden in bushes. Disposable packaging, fishing gear, small pieces of plastic broken down over a long period of time - and even plastic that traveled all the way from Asia.
- We spent most of the day kneeling in the bushes. It was completely full of plastic, says the team.
After a full day, eight bags of rubbish were filled - 148 kilograms. But the work was not done. The team returned later that week and filled four more bags. In total, 190 kilograms of plastic are now gone from the coastline!
Among the finds were large ropes and a rope that would otherwise have broken down into microplastics. Removing them before they become tiny threads in the sea makes a difference to birds, fish and the whole ecosystem.
Plastic in the oceans is one of the biggest environmental problems of our time. Every hour, the equivalent of five bathtubs of plastic is washed up on the Bohuslän coast. 94% of seabirds in the North Sea have plastic in their stomachs and millions of marine animals die every year due to plastic pollution. If nothing changes, there will be more plastic than fish in the oceans by 2050.
By working with CleanSea, we are taking a concrete step to reduce plastic pollution and protect biodiversity. We are proud to contribute to a cleaner ocean while supporting young entrepreneurs. CleanSea started as a JA project and has grown into an organization that makes a real difference.
READ MORE ABOUT THE COLLABORATION WITH CLEAN SEA