Everything counts in large amounts: July 13, near a beach in Turkey. Campers and locals creating a dump they will later burn. This eco alert hopes to stop widespread illegal dumping of consumer trash.
There is nothing more annoying than getting out of the town or city and going to nature for a stroll or swim and then coming upon a pile of garbage. Or nothing more annoying than thinking you are going to paradise and then end up in a dump. Unlike pollution such as microplastics that can’t be seen, or industrial pollution causing high rates of suspected cancer cases, when you see garbage in plain sight being contributed to by everyday people, you know there is a big problem with local awareness.
This Eco Alert come from Sandra Brinuma, who went for a swim at the beach in Keşan, Edirne, Turkey. “The place on internet was called as ‘hidden paradise’. It was hidden plastic hell,” she reports.
The bay where she found the piles of trash is called İtalyan Koyu or Kale Koyu and it is close to Mecidiye and Erikli villages. “A sand road goes there from the main road,” she tells Green Prophet, and to find it on the GPS you punch in: 40°35’47.2″N 26°30’40.4″E.
The last time we went to Turkey the nature was pristine and clean. But this is changing with the growing use of plastics and our throwaway culture. This is what we want to see. Not the pile of garbage above.
She explains: “Across the hill on the other side there is Uzunkum beach which is with the payment fee therefore there was no trash. Where municipality steps in is clean but not official beaches (however crowded ones) are not taken care of at all.
“I wish I have taken more pictures as on the sides of the beach there was a lot of trash too and also trash was swimming in the water.
As it is not an official beach, there are no trash cans and where the cars were parked there was this huge hole in the ground full with trash. When I went there to take a picture, a man with his son was going there to throw more bottles in it. I told him that he should not do this, then he said that campers have made this trash here and that municipality burns it later. He did not understand that he is a part of the problem nor that burning is bad,” Brinuma explains.
Her boyfriend Umut Üntürk sent a message to the Keşan Municipality and she is waiting for a reply. “Locals seem to not care,” she says. “They were ok with trash and not to pay entrance fee.”
Consider that Turkey beaches are rated the best in the world for Blue Flag. How can we keep it that way?
Read more about local environmental movements in Turkey:
As He Battles Lawsuit, Grandfather of Turkish Environmental Movement Receives Right Livelihood Award
Istanbul’s Main Square To Become Lifeless And Isolated In New Urban Plan, Opponents Warn
10,000 Turks Gather To Protest Coal-Fired Power Plant
“Anatola Won’t Be Blackened” Declare Turkish Anti-Fossil Fuel Groups
You might think that little reports of environmental neglect go nowhere. We disagree. Have an environmental gripe or violation to report? Email us [email protected]
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist and publisher that founded Green Prophet to unite a prosperous Middle East. She shows through her work that positive, inspiring dialogue creates action that impacts people, business and planet. She has published in thought-leading newspapers and magazines globally, owns an IoT tech chip patent, and is part of teams that build world-changing products to make agriculture and our planet more sustainable. Reach out directly to [email protected]
