Greenlight RE were out in full force as a record 150 teams volunteered for the 2018 Earth Day Clean-up.
The 2018 Earth Day Clean-up took place on Saturday, April 21 with a record number of clean-up teams lining local beaches, parks and roads to clear up litter.
A record 150 teams registered for the Chamber of Commerce’s clean-up, with dozens of other teams participating in other community collaborative efforts, including mangrove clean-ups.
“The response to this year’s clean-up was brilliant, and it is so encouraging to see members of the community coming together and collaborating on an important cause,” said CEO, Wil Pineau, CCE.
“Thousands of bags of trash were collected during the clean-up. Whilst it may be disheartening to know that this amount of trash was littered around our Islands in the first place, we can certainly be happy that, through a massive group effort, this trash will be disposed of appropriately.”
Foster’s IGA, Junk and the Department of Environmental Health provided volunteers with thousands of trash bags, recycling bags and plastic gloves for the clean-up. Volunteers who registered early also claimed some exclusive items bearing the Earth Day logo personally designed by conservationist and wildlife artist Guy Harvey, including t-shirts, hats, and tote bags.
This year’s clean-up saw some unusual and shocking discoveries. Volunteers from Walkers Law Firm uncovered some discarded machinery, one item possibly being a sausage stuffer (pictured below). Meanwhile, volunteers of Plastic Free Cayman’s mangrove clean-up removed 400lbs of trash from mangroves around the Island.
The clean-up concluded with a celebratory brunch at George Town Yacht Club, where brunch partners Re/Max entertained younger volunteers with an inflatable bounce house.
“Now that this year’s clean-up is over it is important to look ahead to the future,” said Wil.
“We must ensure that these collaborative efforts continue throughout the year, and not just on an annual basis.”
The Chamber of Commerce will continue to advocate for environmental protection via its environmental pledge and anti-littering initiatives.
Click here to see more photos from the 2018 Earth Day Clean-up.
The Chamber of Commerce would like to thank the thousands of volunteers who took the time to join in the Earth Day Clean-up, as well as the corporate members who supported the event, including:
• Britcay
• Cayman Turtle Centre
• Guy Harvey
• Re/Max
• Butterfield Bank
• Carey Olsen
• Cayman First
• Cayman Water
• Cost-U-Less
• CUC
• Department of Environmental Health (DEH)
• Fidelity
• Foster’s IGA
• Greenlight RE
• Home Gas
• Island Waste (IWC)
• Junk
• Kensington Management Group
• Knighthead Annuity
• KPMG
• Ogier
• Pestkil
• Rawlinson & Hunter
• RBC
• Rotary Central
• Sackville Bank
• Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS)
• Water Authority
• Yello Media Group