TR
13.09.2023
UNDERWATER CLEANUP ENDS WITH EXHIBITION FEATURING WASTE PHOTOGRAPHS
"The Sea Deserves the Most Blue" initiative, initiated by Bodrum Municipality and organized for the 9th time this year, concluded after a cleanup effort held at Kumbahçe Bay. Following the cleanup, a display featuring the collected waste and photographs documenting this year's work was set up at Bodrum Municipality Square.
The Underwater Cleanup Event, initiated to rid various bays and beaches in Bodrum of waste and raise environmental awareness, ended with the cleanup in Kumbahçe Bay. A volunteer diving team, affiliated with Bodrum Municipality Support Services Directorate and Cleaning Services Directorate, retrieved various waste materials from the sea. Throughout the cleanup, the Mavi Hizmet 1 Waste Ship from the Bodrum Chamber of Commerce Marmaris Sea Vehicles Waste Collection Cooperative accompanied the divers.
A total of nearly 3 tons of waste collected in 11 different neighborhoods
Having begun on July 19, this year's cleanup campaign resulted in the collection of nearly 3 tons of waste across the neighborhoods of Türkbükü, Gündoğan, Yalıkavak, Gümüşlük, Küçükbük, Turgutreis, Akyarlar, Kadıkalesi, Ortakent, Güvercinlik, and Kumbahçe.
Following the Kumbahçe cleanup, the retrieved seabed waste and photographs showcasing this year's efforts were exhibited at Bodrum Municipality Square. Thousands of discarded cigarette butts, a common issue on beaches, were also included in the display. The exhibition attracted significant interest, with the Acting Mayor Emel Çakaloğlu, Deputy Mayor Tayfun Yılmaz and students from Cumhuriyet Middle School, Güler Mustafa Kızılağaç Elementary School and Bodrum Vocational & Technical Anatolian High School in attendance, representing Ahmet Aras, the Mayor of Bodrum.
"The Sea Deserves the Most Blue"
Emel Çakaloğlu, Acting Mayor of Bodurm, said, "We are on the last day of our project ‘The Sea Deserves the Most Blue’, which we have continued as Bodrum Municipality for 9 years. We have carried out this project in 11 bays where sea usage is intense. Today, in order to raise awareness among our students and citizens and to create awareness, we have organized an exhibition with photographs of the underwater cleanup efforts carried out by the municipality. We shall continue these efforts as Bodrum Municipality. We do thank all the directorates of ours that contributed, the sea deserves the most blue."
Deputy Mayor Tayfun Yılmaz emphasized the importance of awareness, saying, "In the underwater cleanup event, which we conducted in 11 different bays commencing from Gündoğan, we included NGOs, students, parents and local residents in the project. We amassed nearly 3 tons of waste in total. Our objective is to foster awareness among the younger generation and the local people and to prevent further pollution from occurring by presenting the waste collected from the seabed in an exhibition format."
Yılmaz also mentioned the collected cigarette butts, saying, "The most common issue we face on the shores is cigarette butts. We have designated areas for cigarette butts on our beaches, and there are locations within a worst-case scenario, about 250-300 meters apart, where cigarette butts can be disposed of along private businesses and the entire coastline. Cigarette butts are one of the most difficult waste types to clean up as they mix with the sand, causing the most harm and taking up to 100 years to decompose. We kindly request our citizens to be particularly sensitive to this issue.
