Stichting De Noordzee cleanup collects 4,175 kg of waste

Over 2,000 volunteers participated in the Boskalis Beach Cleanup Tour, an annual initiative by Stichting De Noordzee, to clean the entire Dutch North Sea coast. The two-week campaign concluded in Zandvoort on August 15, collecting a total of 4,175 kilograms of waste.

A significant finding was the collection of 79,242 cigarette butts, representing a 53 percent increase compared to the previous edition. Ewout van Galen, director of Stichting De Noordzee, noted that cigarette filters are 95 percent plastic and do not decompose, instead breaking down into microplastics that can contaminate up to 1,000 liters of seawater and harm marine life.

While research spanning 25 years indicates that Dutch beaches are becoming cleaner overall, the amount of small plastic debris remains a persistent issue. Volunteers also discovered long-lasting items, including a chocolate bar wrapper from 1991 and plastic bottles from China and Malaysia, highlighting the longevity and global reach of plastic pollution.