First Beach Cleanup

Report on Participation in the Senkoji Beach Cleanup

On May 23, I participated in a beach cleanup held at Senkoji Beach in Ishikawa Prefecture. Organized by the NPO Ishikawa Marine Environment Conservation Association, this event drew about 40 participants, who spent roughly an hour cleaning the area.

On the sandy beach, we found a large amount of trash that had drifted in from the ocean, including large valves that appeared to have been lost during fishing operations, as well as packaging labeled in Korean and Chinese. Thinking about how this trash was carried here by ocean currents from somewhere else really brought home the interconnectedness of the ocean.

Mr. Kawasaki, the organization’s representative, also conducted a trash survey of a 1-meter-square area. Looking at the results sorted by type, it became clear that even a beach that appears clean at first glance is actually covered with a surprisingly diverse array of trash.

What stood out most were the fine white granules—the shells of plastic-coated fertilizer. While widely used in agriculture, it is said that these take nearly 1,000 years to decompose naturally. The reality that items used in our daily lives are accumulating on the coast without us even noticing was something I only learned by participating.

Even after 40 of us spent an hour collecting this much trash, there is still plenty left on the beach. There are things that are hard to grasp through numbers and data alone, but you can truly feel them only by participating in person. Please do come and see for yourself.