Half of Norway’s outer coastline has been cleaned up

Norway has the world’s second-longest coastline after Canada, and along the entire coast, plastic litter washes ashore that no one wants to take responsibility for. Thanks to the work of the coastal cleaners who work inCleanup Norway in Time, the plastic is nevertheless removed from nature.

“We know that cleaning up plastic makes a difference. Every time a plastic item is removed, we prevent it from breaking down into countless small pieces – all the way down to microplastics that can remain in nature forever and threaten both ecosystems and wildlife. This is precisely what the name reflects”Cleanup Norway in Time: to clean up before the plastic causes irreversible damage, says Cecilie Lind, CEO of The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

Among the coastal cleaners, we find many different operators – ranging from outdoor recreation councils to service companies for the aquaculture industry. They have won procurement competitions in their regions and carry out the cleanup work on behalf of The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund.

The results are astonishing: As many as4,300 tonneswaste has already been removed, and the clean-up work covers31,500 kilometresr – as far as travelling from Oslo to Sydney and back again. According to Lind, cooperation between multiple parties has been the key to making this possible.

“This is possible thanks to all our members in the retail sector, our public-sector partners – and not least all the operators who are knee-deep in plastic and clean up every single day, whatever the weather,” says Lind.

• When the clean-up effort began in 2020, an entirely new profession emerged: the coastal cleaner. Their task is to clear our coastline of plastic and other waste. The work is demanding – long distances, harsh weather conditions and varied terrain mean that both expertise and the right equipment are essential. That is precisely why this must be a professional occupation, not just voluntary work. The diversity of the coastline places high demands on experience: in the south, the challenge is often small and fragmented pieces, while in the north there may be large and heavy objects that in some cases have become embedded in nature.

For The Norwegian Retailers' Environment Fund, it is crucial to keep an eye on both national and international developments. While the Fund contributes to concrete solutions here at home, it also follows global processes closely.

Just a couple of weeks ago, as many as 184 countries gathered in Geneva for yet another attempt to agree on a legally binding plastics agreement – an agreement intended to address the entire lifecycle of plastics, from production to waste management. After two weeks of intense negotiations, however, the participants had to return home without reaching an agreement.

“In the wake of yet another failed attempt to secure a global plastics agreement, it becomes even more important to highlight solutions that actually work,” says Lind.

She points out that Cleanup Norway in Time shows how it is possible to achieve major results – even without government funding and without the world having agreed on a treaty. It is precisely for this reason that several countries have looked to the Cleanup Norway in Time model for inspiration.

Would you like to read more about the plastics negotiations? Click herehere.