Sea cleaning was carried out at Üsküdar Harem Beach within the scope of "Leave Your Mark on the Future: Plastic-Free July Meeting" organized in cooperation with the Zero Waste Foundation, Turkish Special Athletes Sports Federation (TÖSSFED) and Turkish Underwater Sports Federation (TSSF). During the event, plastic waste removed from the seabed by divers was carried to the shore by special athletes.
In the event held to raise social awareness against plastic pollution, divers affiliated with the Turkish Underwater Sports Federation carried out cleaning activities on the seabed at Üsküdar Harem Beach. Plastic and various wastes removed by divers were delivered to the national athletes with Down syndrome and autism of the Turkish Special Athletes Sports Federation. Special athletes contributed to environmental cleanliness by carrying the waste they received from the sea surface to the shore. At the event, attention was drawn to the importance of protecting the seas and reducing plastic use, and awareness messages were given to spread environmental awareness.
As part of the event, a large car tire was removed from the seabed, and the waste collected at the end of the event was separated to be sent to the recycling process.
"It is predicted that there will be more plastic than fish in our seas by 2050 and beyond."
Speaking at the event, Zero Waste President Samed Ağırbaş said, "Today, on the occasion of the 'Make a Mark on the Future Plastic-Free July' meeting, we are together for a very important issue that concerns not only our environment, but also our health and future. Today, we have come together for an awareness event together with our Turkey Youth Foundation and our federations. According to the data of the United Nations, it is predicted that there will be more plastic than fish in our seas in 2050 and beyond. We are now talking about a new continent in our oceans: the Plastic Continent. "Unfortunately, as a result of a study conducted in England, we found microplastics in the blood of unborn children. The world is now being dragged into a major environmental disaster, and we need to create a zero waste culture in this land and in the world together to say "stop" to this disaster, he said.
"Today, we have special athletes here who are Türkiye's most valuable treasures."
Stating that as the Zero Waste Foundation, it is necessary to create a culture of zero waste, not awareness of zero waste, Ağırbaş said, "Awareness is temporary. It may pass after a month, two months or a while. But if we create the culture of this, we will establish a system, a philosophy of life that will last for generations. Today, we have special athletes with us, who are the most valuable treasures of Türkiye. While we started the zero waste movement in 2017 under the leadership of First Lady Emine Erdoğan, we said 'This movement is Türkiye's 81st century." "We said, 'There will be a movement of 86 million citizens in the province. We said let's build a movement where no one is left behind, where we will walk shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder with everyone, and today we organized this event together with our valuable special athletes as an indicator of this."
"These seas are ours. We have to protect Türkiye's blue, green, air and nature together."
Sharing some data about microplastics, Ağırbaş said, "Everyone who listens to us right now is unintentionally swallowing a credit card-sized microplastic every week. As you can see in the new images today, we now encounter microplastics even on the beaches of Marmaris. After our fish eat those plastics, we add those plastics to our food chain and now we encounter microplastics in our bodies. And many of the individuals who eat 5 grams of plastic a week face different diseases. And at this point, as the Zero Waste Foundation, Emine We started a great movement from Türkiye under the leadership of Ms. Erdoğan. Today, it has turned into a movement that has received response in 81 provinces of Türkiye and 193 countries of the world. Last month, we organized the Zero Waste Forum, where more than 5000 people came from 183 countries of the world. Hopefully, the Zero Waste Forum, with our President with us in the closing program, became the world's largest zero waste, environment and climate change event. "We are starting a new environmental activity with this event. These seas belong to all of us, we have to protect Türkiye's blue, green, air and nature together," he said.
Concluding his speech with a quote from Mevlana, Ağırbaş said:
"Hz. Mevlana says, 'The current generation prepares the future of the next generation. If we want to leave these beauties to the next generations, if we want the blue of the Bosphorus to remain blue, if we want the green of Türkiye to remain green, we have to protect these beauties with all our strength. I believe that we will protect them together and carry them to future generations."
President of the Turkish Youth Foundation (TÜGVA), İbrahim Vinci, stated that he sees today as the turning point of a very important day in terms of environmental mobilization and said, "At this point, we, as the Turkish Youth Foundation, take our place here knowing that it is our duty and responsibility to contribute to the Plastic-Free July campaign. At this point, a very meaningful slogan is waving in the square again: Leave a Mark on the Future. As the Turkish Youth Foundation, we want to leave a mark on the future, not plastic. At this point, we invite all our young people, our precious elders, mothers and fathers, to the environmental mobilization. "I would like to express my gratitude again to our Zero Waste Foundation President, federation presidents and athletes who made great contributions to the realization of this event," he said. - ISTANBUL