Trash Talk & International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICC)

GreenLine came together with two other organisations, My Green Society and Start Upcycling Now (SUN), to clean our coastline on the occasion of International Coastal Clean-up (hereafter referred to as ICC) Day which is celebrated annually on 17th October. This year, through our collaboration with the two organisations, we gathered students from the schools who are registered with the Green Schools Campaign to clean up Mumbai’s and the surrounding areas’ beaches and other water bodies.

Before the clean-up drives were conducted, GreenLine organised an online webinar, Trash Talk, prior to ICC Day on 10th September 2022. My Green Society’s Vishal Tibrewala, SUN’s Natasha D’Souza and the students and teachers came together for it, and the two organisations’ representatives sensitised the students about the waste pollution that plagues our world and the importance of waste-free coastlines and oceans. The session came to an end after the Teachers and organisations’ representatives discussed the plans of the upcoming clean-up activities with each other and clarified any doubts. This online session was conducted with the purpose of informing the clean-up drive participants about the important details required on the day of the clean-up days.

The clean-up drive happened across various parts of the city, from Gorai to Marine Lines, on 15th and 18th October 2022. Students and teachers went out in harsh rainy and sunny weather to rid our coastline of as much of waste as possible. Equipped with not only gloves and rakes, but also their earnestness and willingness to make a change and leave this planet in a better condition than it currently is. Additionally, on the actual ICC Day (17th September), students performed street plays to raise awareness about cleanliness, and waterbody and coastline conservation across the city. This allowed them to share with other citizens what they had learned from the Trash Talk session, thereby raising much-needed awareness.

Nearly 15 schools participated in the clean-up drives and clean-up drives were conducted across Mumbai, Pune and Lonavala. All the participants were provided with e-certificates to commend them for the good and hard work they had put in. The overall event was a major success through which we not only made the young minds under the Green Schools Campaign aware and informed but also through their efforts we managed to reach a broader audience and ignite a spark in whoever witnessed the clean-up and street plays.