To combat pollution, Aracaju launches the 'Beautiful beach is a clean beach' project.

Sergipe 247 - To encourage environmental awareness among Aracaju residents, Mayor Edvaldo Nogueira participated, on the morning of Sunday the 29th, in the launch of the program "Beautiful beach is a clean beach", on the Atalaia waterfront. An initiative of the Aracaju Environment Secretariat, the project involves a series of actions focused on education, whose objective is to draw citizens' attention to the high amount of garbage collected on the beaches. Weekly, the Municipal Urban Services Company collects nine tons of waste in the region.

"We are initiating a broad program to raise public awareness about beach cleanliness. It's not just a public action. It's the responsibility of all citizens. I made a point of being here this Sunday because it's not enough to just talk. The essential thing is to act. That's why we are distributing small trash cans for cars, and we are also working with bars and restaurants so that each table has its own trash can, thus reducing the immense amount of trash found on the beaches. In addition, we will partner with the private sector to increase the number of trash cans in the city," said the mayor, who attended the educational blitz to talk with people who went to the beach this Sunday.

Edvaldo emphasized that the "Beautiful Beach is a Clean Beach" program is proof of his administration's care for Aracaju. "This project is very important. It's a call to citizens to do their part. And a way to reinforce how vital environmental preservation is. We are working to keep our city clean and we want everyone's involvement. As the saying goes, 'a clean city is not the one that is cleaned the most, but the one that is dirtied the least'," he reiterated.

Bricklayer José Ailton de Jesus, who was arriving at the beach with his family when the mayor was there, congratulated the mayor on the initiative. He agreed with the idea of ​​everyone's participation. "It's a great project. It's approved. I'm a regular at the beach and we felt it was very disorganized. With the current administration, it has already improved a lot. Now, with this awareness program, I think it will improve even more. I'm doing my part. I hope all the beachgoers will help too," he stated.

The municipal secretary of the Environment, Augusto César Viana, pointed out that the initiative is not isolated, but constitutes a program of the administration to keep the beaches clean through citizen awareness. "It's not a one-day symbolic event. We are partnering with hotels, bars, and restaurants, both regarding waste management and the reuse of oil. The idea is to transform the oil into soap, thus preventing its disposal in lakes and the ocean," he explained.

The bill is law.

The Clean Beach project is based on Law No. 4.800/2016, conceived by the former councilwoman and current Director of Planning and Systems of the Municipal Superintendence of Transportation and Traffic of Aracaju (SMTT), Lucimara Passos. The law mandates the use of trash cans by all those who conduct any type of commerce on the beachfront, from small street vendors to large bars.

Before the official launch of the project this Sunday, the 29th, some interventions were carried out, such as the placement of educational totems along the entire shoreline and a crane hoisted with a large amount of waste, in order to show the population the scale of all the garbage that is thrown on the beaches.

In addition to the educational blitz, with the support of SMTT and Mix FM, other activities are being carried out, such as an exhibition of data on marine mortality caused by solid waste, health services offered by the Health Department, a sand sculpture exhibition, a percussion workshop for children, and sports activities. During the afternoon, there will be a beach cleanup, the inauguration of an ecological monument made from ten thousand PET bottles, and the release of turtles.

*With information from the Press Office