RCPC, IMF and local community of PUNE are proud to be part of the International Coastal Clean-up now in its 33rd year. This is the largest volunteer clean-up effort in the world to tackle the growing threat of trash in our ocean. • Every year, an estimated 8 million metric tons of plastic waste flows into the ocean. It’s bad news for the health of this vital natural resource, the iconic ocean wildlife we all love as well as our own health, safety and prosperity. • Coastal municipalities spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars every year on beach clean-ups to prevent trash from reaching the water. Similarly, recreational boaters as well as the commercial shipping and fishing industries face significantly higher costs due to trash, including derelict fishing gear, being discarded into the ocean. Many fishing communities around the world have started their own marine clean-up efforts to retrieve this litter from the ocean. • Trash in the ocean can entrap and strangle ocean wildlife. It can also cause significant damage to the other elements of marine ecosystems, especially near-shore environments which often have some of the highest concentrations of biodiversity. Trash is increasingly making its way into the stomachs of marine species. At least 690 different species of marine life, including marine birds, have been documented with ocean trash, especially plastic, in their stomachs. In certain fish markets in California, sample studies have found plastics to be in the contents of at least 25% of the fish sampled on a given day. • Last year, the 32nd International Coastal Clean-up (ICC) resulted in more than 25 million pounds of trash—collected by nearly 10,00,000 volunteers and India ranked 10th • Together, more than 11 million volunteers have removed more than 210 million pounds (more than 95 million kilograms) of trash over almost three decades! The Ocean Trash Index is the world’s largest database on marine litter. This database is used to educate and inform scientists, conservation groups, governments and industry leaders about ocean trash and take action to ensure trash never reaches our beaches. The first Clean-up Expedition this year was carried out at Koregaon Park, Pune on a Saturday, 15 September. Successful clean up kicked off by President Rtn Ravi Kapoor at Bund Garden with staff and students from Anjumal Islam on Saturday, 27th October, 2018. Total 350 Kg. debris (Approx) collected in 18 big garbage bags.