“Our beaches matter, and we must improve our efforts to keep them clean due to the impact this has on the health of marine life, as well as ourselves.” This is the plea from Sagicor, who sponsored and participated in this year’s Barbados International Coastal Cleanup (BICC) organized by the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN). 

Dozens of team members from the insurance and financial institution turned up at Browne’s Beach on Sunday October 25th, collecting, with the help of other volunteers, just under 1000 pounds of garbage in three hours’ time. 

Speaking at the closing ceremony following the morning’s massive haul, Wayne Alleyne, Agency Manager with Sagicor, said “from the amount of garbage collected, it is clear that we need to do better.”

“We need to do more. Barbados is our home and I don’t think I need to explain to anyone how critical our beaches are to our economy and to the livelihood of many”, said Alleyne. “At Sagicor, our vision is to be a great company committed to improving the lives of those in the communities in which we operate. I am a firm believer that it is not only our role to improve, but also to preserve. I am therefore imploring Barbadians to step up their efforts as it relates to keeping our beaches clean, as this has a direct impact on many areas of our lives.”

According to CYEN’s National Coordinator, Arabelle James-Anglise, not enough attention is paid to the indirect impact this garbage has on our health. “Much of this garbage makes its way into the sea, where it is consumed by marine life. We as humans then in-turn consume this marine life as part of our diet, which means that we are also consuming bits of garbage, particularly microplastics.”