Over 1.2tonnes of rubbish cleared from Ocean Village and Marina Bay

More than 1.2 tonnes of rubbish was cleared from the shallower marina waters in front of the restaurants and bars by the Ocean Village and Marina Bay Marinas team as they ramped up the frequency of their rubbish clearance operations.

The enhanced rubbish recovery schedule is a result of close collaboration with HM Government of Gibraltar’s Department of Environment and has involved Dive Charters, acting as recovery specialists, a spokesman for Ocean Village said.

“With only half of the current operation complete, the teams recorded in excess of 1,200kg (1.2 Tonnes) of rubbish, including broken glasses, straws, drink cans, broken bottles, restaurant chairs, plastic menus, cigarette butts, beer mats, six mobile phones, a watch and various other assorted plastics being recovered, each piece carefully collected by hand,” the spokesman said.

“In the week marking World Oceans Day, which is celebrated to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean and to spread awareness to protect the marine environment, this local operation has provided a shocking and sobering realisation of the extent to which the careless actions of the few, can impact so greatly on Gibraltar’s local marine waters.”

William Bowman, Marina Director of Ocean Village & Marina Bay Marinas, urged the public to dispose their rubbish in the bins to protect the marine environment.

“Please help us to safeguard the precious marina environment and marine ecosystem by disposing of your rubbish in the bins that are provided so that we can all collectively benefit from better water circulation within our marinas, creating cleaner waters for marine wildlife and for the enjoyment of anyone that visits,” Mr Bowman said.

The second half of the rubbish recovery operation continues within the marinas this month.

For further information, photos or to get involved in helping to spread awareness about improving Gibraltar’s marine environment, please contact the Ocean Village & Marina Bay Marinas team by email at emilia.hazellsmith@oceanvillage.gi.