BEACH clean-ups and recycling drives were organised as environmentalists and local groups came together to mark World Environment Day.
A campaign to clean Budaiya beach was staged by the Coastguard, in co-operation with the Northern Governorate, on Thursday.
Volunteers, including officials and representatives from the Northern Governorate Police Directorate, the Northern Municipality, the Positive Hands team and Bahrain Paramedic Academy, took part.
The event was aimed at preserving Bahrain’s coastal environment and reducing marine waste, as well as promoting a culture of volunteer work and social responsibility.
The Coastguard and Northern Governorate highlighted the importance of community effort and encouraged more people to participate in similar initiatives in future.
The General Directorate of Verdict Enforcement and Alternative Sentencing also staged a campaign to clean Malkiya beach, bringing together beneficiaries of the Open Prisons Programme.
The event was organised as part of the directorate’s efforts to promote rehabilitation and community integration programmes. Additionally, it aimed to instil values of citizenship and responsibility in the beneficiaries by involving them in volunteer work that contributes to serving the community and preserving the environment.
Meanwhile, unregistered, volunteer-run community movement One Heart Bahrain staged a cleanup activity at Buhair Valley in East Riffa.
Around 40 volunteers collected approximately 30kg of waste, including paper and plastic, in collaboration with a local waste management company, according to One Heart Bahrain volunteer Amal Ishaq.
The GDN earlier reported that around 3,300kg of waste was collected during beach clean-ups in Bahrain in 2024, a drop from 7,600kg in the preceding year.
Several corporates and non-profit organisations also staged activities to mark World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5.
Among them was the Manama Rotary Club (RCM), which visited the Asian School in Tubli to promote its reusable bags campaign.
“We visited the school along with some of our Interactors on World Environment Day,” RCM youth director Laetitia Vanden Ameele told the GDN.
The Interact Club is a Rotary-sponsored service organisation for young philanthropists, aged 16 to 18, and RCM hopes to induct pupils from the Asian School.
“At the end of the programme, 500 bags were handed out to students and 140 bags will be distributed among the management and staff members next week,” Ms Ameele revealed.
Currently, the RCM Interact Club comprises pupils from St Christopher’s School, British School of Bahrain, Multinational School Bahrain and Britus International School.
Bag distribution in progress
The reusable bags campaign was carried out under the RCM’s Impact for Good initiative launched earlier this year, which aims at fostering sustainable habits across the kingdom. The first activation under the initiative focuses on recycling and raising awareness around the overuse of plastic bags.
The reusable bags are intended to make it easier for individuals and families to reduce reliance on single-use plastics and adopt more sustainable daily habits. Additionally, they are durable, washable and practical for everyday use.
The movement is in keeping with Rotary International’s commitment to supporting activities that strengthen the conservation and protection of natural resources and advance ecological sustainability.
Plastic is recognised globally as a major environmental pollutant and remains difficult to recycle at scale. A 2023 report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that as much as 13 million tonnes of plastic enter the oceans each year, severely harming marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Notably, single-use plastics, such as cups, water bottles and food packaging, make up approximately 89 per cent of the plastic waste found on the ocean floor.
In Bahrain, single-use plastic bags with a thickness of less than 35 microns are banned under a ministerial order that was implemented by the Supreme Council for Environment in 2019.
The GDN previously reported that plastic beverage containers and bottles could soon be ruled out in the kingdom under a sweeping proposal that has gained unanimous backing across municipal bodies. The initiative, submitted by the Strategic Thinking Bloc, led by Parliament’s financial and economic affairs committee chairman Ahmed Al Salloom, has been fully endorsed by all three municipal councils as well as the Capital Trustees Board.
melissa@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))