Saturday, July 8, 2006

Third Quarterly Clean Up Dive of 2006 Once Again Cleans up the Playa Shoreline
Kralendijk, Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, July 18, 30, 2006: On Saturday, July 8th, 2006, a group of divers and non-divers met at Bonaire Yellow Submarine to prepare and coordinate the third clean up dive of 2006.

After a comprehensive briefing by Susan Davis of NetTech (a co-sponsor of the Quarterly Clean Ups), the group geared up and headed out to the dive site, an area of coastline between Yellow Submarine and Town Pier. All divers were well informed on what type of trash to bring up, as well as information on how to avoid harming the reef or other marine animals. Volunteers cleaned up the shoreline as well as underwater.
Although this area was cleaned in the July 2005 cleanup, there were new signs of dumping, as the cleanup crew brought up the following trash and removed it all for proper disposal: 6 plastic beverage bottles, 64 other bottles, 30 caps or lids, 18 pieces of clothing, 32 pieces of monofilament fishing line, 30 pieces of food service items, 9 wrappers or containers, 1 pull tab, 1 toy, 3 light bulbs, 6 pieces of plastic sheeting, 18 pieces of rope, 1 strapping band, 18 pieces of building materials, 5 automotive parts, and 7 tires. Since all of this trash had to have been discarded in the past year, it serves to underscore the need for regular cleanups.

That evening, the volunteers returned to enjoy each other’s camaraderie at the evening Pot Luck BBQ, where they dined upon tenderloin, chicken, and ribs, sponsored by Yellow Submarine, NetTech, and PSI/Sherwood Scuba. Side salads and other accompaniments were provided by the participants themselves.

The next quarterly underwater cleanup will be conducted on Saturday, September 16, 2006--all are welcome, divers and non-divers alike. Meet at Yellow Submarine at 1:00 PM.