Party poppers and ‘lax management’ pollute beaches

There are “no plastics worse than others” when it comes to cleaning beaches, especially after parties or weddings when – in the name of creating a celebratory atmosphere – poppers propel thousands of small pieces of metallic paper onto the sand.

Ecological Movement Cyprus’ Natasa Ioannou blamed “lax management” for failing to keep the beaches clean.

She told the Cyprus Mail that party poppers should be banned and party organisers should find alternatives to make the day unforgettable.

The “Wish you were Clean” campaign is organised annually in Cyprus to clean up four different beaches every year – Ayia Thekla in Famagusta, Lady’s Mile in Limassol, Lara in Paphos and Softades in Larnaca.

On July 14 alone, 800 pieces of confetti and other plastic decorative items left behind from a wedding were gathered from the beach in Ayia Thekla by a group of volunteers from the Ecological Movement, the Green Party Youth, the Centre for Social Innovation and Reset Cy organisation.

A total of 50.7kg of rubbish was stuffed into bags during a single hour of cleaning.

Ioannou spoke to the Cyprus Mail about the problem.

“Unfortunately, we are a group of volunteers and we only have the resources and capacity for four cleanups per year,” she said.

Ioannou said the grants cover transportation and materials, such as rubbish bags and gloves.

“We go the beaches and we know from the rubbish what the beach was used for.”

Softades, for example, is a beach frequented by bathers.

“Here we see that the rubbish comes from beach parties and overnight stays,” she said.

She added that “we only find wedding litter in Ayia Thekla, which is a romantic and idyllic place.”

“Weddings and beach parties are the same for us. They produce waste the community cannot handle, the people who are responsible for the beaches cannot handle.”

Ioannou blamed “lax management” for the failure to keep the beaches clean and to take preventive measures.

“We undertake actions and send many letters. Due to lack of funds, the authorities are very slow in doing anything. Some are willing but cannot proceed,” Ioannou said.

Ioannou said “the best waste is the waste that never happens.”

An example she gave was the banning of plastic straws.

“Although it was very painful for people’s daily lives, we see the results. We almost don’t find any straws on some beaches,” she explained.

Using party poppers is inexplicable for environmentalists, as is setting off fireworks next to forest areas.

“Some materials should be banned. Confetti on beaches and generally in outside areas should be banned,” she said.

Ioannou said “all plastics we find on the beach are a problem.”

“Plastic on the beach becomes microplastics. It is impossible to remove from nature,” she said.

For this reason, she added, “we cannot say that one plastic is worse than the other.”

“We often make recommendations to the environment ministry and various municipalities to gradually begin banning plastics and adopting viable solutions,” Ioannou said.

The next cleanup will be at Lady’s Mile on August 25.