World Ocean Day clean up
On the 8th June 2013 the Green Pattaya Community gathered over 80 people to Cosy Beach Pratamnak near the Varuna Yacht Club to celebrate World Ocean Day. Green Pattaya’s event was the only official event in Thailand on World Ocean Day. They also did a big clean up around Soi Rajchawaroon.
Green Pattaya staff gathered at noon to set up fresh fruits and drinks for all participants.
Around 1 p.m. people in different groups started to arrive and took some refreshments before heading down to the beach. Various organizations were present, including the Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard, Friends of Rotary Club Eastern Seaboard, Children from the Human Help Network Foundation Thailand and Gerry Rasmus.
Chai yo! Everyone in this crew likes keeping the environment clean and green.
Once again Green Pattaya also received help from Pattaya City Hall’s Environmental Department who kindly dedicated two days to the occasion with two big trucks, over 15 staff plus 150 different tools for clearing and cleaning. They took care of all the rubbish and sorted out the recycled items.
Kingdom Property provided extra shirts, caps and drinks. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya provided first aid kits and Defence International Security Services provided security throughout the whole day. Many children from the Human Help Network Foundation Thailand, were present and received a lesson from Gerry Rasmus about the importance of keeping the Ocean Clean. Gerry has been cleaning the beaches in Pattaya for over 12 years and given awards by City Hall for his great work. The Human Help Network once again made a great contribution to the Green Pattaya cleanup for their great work on Cozy Beach and in teaching the children how to preserve nature.
Pattaya City Hall’s Environmental Department helped the cause with two big trucks, over 15 staff plus 150 different tools for clearing and cleaning.
The Pattaya media was well represented promoting and covering the event on TV, radio and social media.
By three o’clock Saturday the truck from Pattaya City Hall was full with rubbish and they departed promising to return on Sunday for more garbage removal. On day two, Pattaya City Hall again with Green Pattaya sorted and cleaned away a further truckload of old, burned rubbish, making over 300 separate journeys from the beach up the Cosy Beach stairs.
Unfortunately the laws in Thailand give protection to the owners of any property on public land and so it is not possible to make assumptions about rubbish. City Hall is very careful sorting and assessing which of the rubbish is abandoned, as someone can actually come and claim the rubbish after removal. Therefore everything with potential value, like bags of bottles, old broken boats or equipment, needs to be left for the rightful owner to claim it.
Green Pattaya will work with City Hall and beach vendors during the next weeks to try to create some order among old seemingly abandoned boats, jet skis, ramps, tyres and other related equipment.
Green Pattaya aims to create awareness of green issues, encourage people into action and involve Pattaya City Hall in solving the area’s environmental problems. This is Green Pattaya’s third regular cleaning day and it has been a great success with not only the removal from the beach of two truckloads of rubbish but also the leveling of ground and tidying the environment on the approach to Cosy Beach.
In helping others, we shall help ourselves, for whatever good we give out completes the circle and comes back to us.
Green Pattaya is a non profit grassroots community and an initiative by members of the Rotary Club of Eastern Seaboard. (Club 65768, District 3340) To check the date and time for the next event please see more information available on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/GreenPattaya. Again, everybody will be welcome.
