Han Ximin

    ximhan@126.com

    A CLEANUP activity Saturday at Dameisha Beach, a tourism destination in Shenzhen’s east, collected around 2,500 kilograms of garbage.

    The activity, initiated by American Michael Standaert to mark International Coastal Cleanup Day, attracted 97 people, including some expats.

    The cleanup concentrated on an area near the far eastern part of the beach. The recent typhoon had pushed a lot of trash up into the fence line and back into the trees where people needed shovels to get much of it out.

    “It is surprising to see so much trash in Dameisha, discarded fishing nets pulled out from bushes, plastic bottles picked up from the gaps between reefs or in the areas that are not attended by cleaners,” said Linda Zhang, market communication manager with Sheraton Dameisha Resort, one of the organizers of the event. Zhang said a simple cleanup activity isn’t enough. The activity was to arouse the public’s awareness of protecting beaches and the environment. (Continued on P3)

    Dameisha, which attracts tourists from around the country, is a name card for the city. Many expats choose to live in Meisha area for its beautiful beach, good atmosphere and good air quality.

    Craig Anderson, who has lived in Meisha for three years, is stunt show performer at OCT East. Anderson co-organized and actively participated in the cleanup, which he thought was a success since such a large group of people came together quickly and cleaned up such a long-neglected area.

    The main goal of the event was to raise awareness among people that if they properly disposed of their garbage in the first place then they could keep the beaches and coastlines cleaner, according to Michael Standaert, the initiator, a journalist with Bloomberg BNA who has lived in Shenzhen since mid-2010.

    “A lot of the garbage is potentially damaging to animal and plant life in the ocean, to coral reefs and other ecosystems. There was a huge amount of small polystyrene pieces that could choke fish, birds and other animals. Plastic bags, plastic strings and the like could get wrapped around birds and fish and other animals,” said Standaert.

    “Shenzhen is my home, at least for now, so helping to make it a better place, even in a small way like this, is something I hope I can continue to do,” said Standaert, who hopes to do this again next year along the coasts of Depeng Peninsula with more sponsors and volunteers.