News

The "My Sea" Green Expedition has concluded, and the 2024 summer marine pollution monitoring results have been compiled. Over 30 days, with the involvement of more than 550 volunteers, monitoring was conducted at 44 marine pollution sites.

According to "My Sea's" marine pollution monitoring for 2024, an average of 334 pieces of waste are found every 100 meters along the Latvian coastline, with an average of 36 different types of waste identified at each beach. This represents an 11% reduction in pollution levels compared to 2023, when 375 pieces of waste were found every 100 meters.

Jānis Ulme, founder of "My Sea" and representative of the Environmental Education Fund, said: "Of course, we are pleased to finally present positive news after several years of the summer monitoring program. However, this joy is somewhat overshadowed by several facts and reflections. Firstly, there is still much work to be done for the Latvian coast to approach the Good Environmental Status goals of the sea. Secondly, while local improvements have been made this season, the visible reduction in pollution is primarily related to European Union regulations promoting the circular economy and reducing plastic pollution, rather than actions implemented in Latvia. This raises the question: are prohibitions, restrictions, and fines the only effective solutions? Can we as a society not make even small changes in our consumption culture? Can municipalities not more boldly adopt best practices in waste prevention and coastal management that are common elsewhere in the world? And finally, could responsible institutions and policymakers at the national level implement environmental legislation more substantively rather than just formally meeting requirements?"

From the total waste amount, analyzing the material composition at beaches, 75.9% consists of various plastic products and polymer materials, followed by paper and cardboard (8.4%), metal (4.8%), with glass and ceramics, food waste, rubber, textiles and clothing, wood, and chemicals lower on the list. The top waste types found include smoking waste (32.6%), plastic food packaging (8.2%), identifiable paper and cardboard pieces (7.2%), and unidentified plastic pieces (6.3%). Of the top 15 waste types found on the coast, 10 are plastic waste.

At the municipal level, the most polluted beaches, as in previous years, are in Jūrmala City (950 pieces of waste per 100 beach meters), while the cleanest are in Talsi Municipality (149 waste items per 100 beach meters).

This year, the list of cleanest beaches has been expanded by one, reaching a total of six beaches along the nearly 500-kilometer Latvian coast. However, none of these beaches yet meet the EU's Good Environmental Status criteria. The cleanest beaches are Miķeļtornis in Ventspils Municipality (41 waste items per 100 meters), followed by Mazirbe (44 items), Lauču akmens (57 items), Engure Central Beach (67 items), and Kaltene (68 items). The list is rounded off by Ziemupe Beach in South Kurzeme Municipality (73 items).

The dirtiest individual beach this year is Lielupe Beach in Jūrmala, with 1,400 waste items found per 100 meters of beach. Also high on the list of dirty beaches are Majoru Beach in Jūrmala (1,008 items), Daugavgrīva Beach in Riga (970 items), Karosta Beach in Liepāja (862 items), and Liepāja Central Beach (754 items).

In addition to announcing "My Sea's" marine pollution monitoring data, the campaign "BE UNIQUE - DON’T USE SINGLE-USE!" was launched, inviting the public to adopt new daily habits to reduce the amount of single-use plastics that enter circulation and often the environment. To remind the public of this issue and encourage more eco-friendly behavior, we have created a traveling environmental object – a large mug (see image below) – which will be displayed for a month in the square near the Saulkrasti Tourism Information Center. More about the campaign can be found here.

As part of the campaign, we have also created a sticker with the message "Thank you for bringing your own mug," encouraging visitors to use their own mugs at outdoor sales points. In collaboration with Ltd. Kafijas pasaule, it is now possible to purchase hot beverages at outdoor locations using your own mug.

The "My Sea" campaign is implemented by the Environmental Education Fund in collaboration with municipalities and businesses interested in coastal protection. The "Green Expedition" environmental education activities are carried out under the European Union's LIFE 2018-2020 program, as part of the LIFE Waste to Resources IP.