Beach cleanup in Oostende
Ocean Initiative EU Staff – #Ourocean

Description

Sorry, registrations are no longer permitted as from May 3rd.
Given the success of the event, we cannot register more participants in the beach clean-up. Please note all participants registered before May 2nd at 23:59 pm are included in the participants list.
Thank you for your understanding,
We look forward to welcoming you to our operations in a near future,
Surfrider Foundation Europe

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Volunteer for the first major beach clean-up by EU officials on Sunday 14 May

Did you know that a plastic bottle takes centuries to decompose? That in less than ten years, Our Ocean could contain one ton of plastic for every three tons of fish? That by 2050, there could even be more plastic than fish in Our Ocean?

Seas and oceans are the source of all life on this planet. And yet they have become a huge landfill. Every year millions of tons of litter end up in their waters: one garbage truck per minute… This doesn't just threaten marine life – it threatens our economy, our well-being and even our health!

As Commissioner Karmenu Vella recently said: "There is a real problem when, one year, you take your fish home in a plastic bag – and the next year you take that plastic bag home in your fish."

Colleagues across the European Commission are already working hard to protect Our Ocean through many different initiatives: the circular economy approach, which focuses on preventing waste; the Plastics Strategy aimed at improving recycling; Horizon 2020, which supports ocean research; the revision of Port Reception Facilities Directive, which addresses the marine litter coming from ships. The Integrated  Maritime Policy provides an overarching strategy to use the EU's ocean resources sustainably – and the International Ocean Governance initiative includes a list of actions for marine litter in the EU and globally.

Now, we're asking you to get involved!

As we get closer to the high-level commitments that will be delivered on the occasion of Our Ocean Conference, which the European Union will host for the first time in Malta on 5-6 October, we want to take action as EU officials. The European Commission (DG MARE), with the support of the Surfrider Foundation Europe, is organising the first major beach clean-up on the Belgian coast to raise awareness around the problem of marine litter and show we do our bit for #OurOcean. Last year, we started with 60 colleagues. This year, we're aiming big – we're looking for at least 200 volunteers from all EU institutions.

So bring your family and join us for a day at the beach!

For logistic reasons, we kindly ask for confirmation of attendance by May 4. If you intend to bring your family, please let us know how many people will accompany you when registering your participation.

Contact: Gilles Doignon, gilles.doignon@ec.europa.eu

N.B. Please note that the event will take place from 2 to 5pm. Food and beverages are not provided. Make sure you wear comfortable clothes and shoes.

Participants

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