The community cleanup program is a part of Indian Swachhata League 2.0 (ISL 2.0) in which SMC arranged a beach cleaning event on the 17th of September 2023 at Dariya Ganesh temple (on seashore).  In this service we went to Dumas to clean the beach and become a part of the event. As a volunteer for the cleanup, we all went to the beach where the SMC had already organized the event.

LO4 – Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience

To ensure cleanliness and safety, the SMC gave us a mask and hand gloves. After that, we had a briefing on how to clean the beach and where to start. We were warned not to pick up broken glass because doing so might put us in danger. As soon as we arrived at the back of the beach, where the sea dumps all of the trash, we grabbed a broom and a basket and started cleaning the waste. Knowing that all of the waste could be hazardous, we all tried our best to stay safe and do something for a greater cause. 

LO6 – Engagement with issues of global significance.

This community cleanup focused on the SDG 6- Clean water and sanitation, SDG 14- Life below water, and SDG 15- Life on land. During the cleanup we saw that how huge of a issue this was because once waste like plastic is thrown in the water, the water gets polluted and the marine animals often eat those waste which causes them suffocation and death and the remaining waste is thrown on the beach shores by the water which is consumed by the animals living near the seashores. If this continues then the marine life, and the life on land for animals will be in danger which may even cause extinction of many species. After knowing this we decided to contribute to the community cleanup to spread awareness about this issue and help cleaning the beach. 

LO7 – Recognise and consider the ethics of choices and actions.

People including me used to think that throwing waste on the beach is not a big deal because it will be later cleaned or flow into the sea but I realized that I was wrong. After knowing what impact these actions make on the environment, I started to focus more on cleaning the beach rather than polluting it. I also realized that we can reuse the waste thrown on the beach. There was a small sustainable flea market organized by the SMC during the cleanup where we saw innovative ideas of people to spread awareness and reuse the waste. These best out of waste practices made us consider the ethics of our choices and actions to be more environmentally sustainable.