Visakhapatnam: The AP government in association with `Parley for the Oceans’, a member of the Global Alliance for a Sustainable Planet (GASP), will organise the world's first beach cleanup endeavour over a stretch of 30km with 25,000 volunteers on August 26.
On the same day, the state government will sign an MoU with Parley for the setting up of the country's first plastic recycling plant in Vizag.
Chief Minister Jagan Reddy, GASP chairman Eric Solheim, Parley founder Cyril Gutsch and others will join the two mega eco-friendly events.
Sharing the details with Deccan Chronicle, GVMC commissioner Lakshmisha said, “Vizag will set a world record in beach cleaning by engaging 25,000 volunteers in a single day. The previous record was a beach cleanup in the US with 16,000 volunteers.”
The civic chief said they initially thought of involving 20,000 volunteers, but raised the target to 25,000 at 40 locations –a spread of 600-650 volunteers at each location -- covering all the tourist spots on the stretch from Vizag Fishing Harbour to Bheemili.
The programme starts at 5.30am and ends at 8.30am. The CM's programme will be at 8.30am, and he would address the volunteers and sign the MoU at the AU Convention Center. The GVMC Sachivalayam staff, NGOs, college students, government officials and others will join the endeavour.
The GASP team met the chief minister in April last to propose the event and recycling plant.
The Parley’s Gutsch said, “Only 9 per cent of the 150 million tonnes of single-use plastic products in the world is recycled. Converting plastic waste into value-added products using eco-friendly methods paves the way for a new economy. The plastic recycling plant in Vizag is one such initiative and Vizag has been selected for this.”
