Costa Mar Beaches Reach Quarterly Cleanup Target Ahead of Schedule

The cleanup campaign, coordinated by the Marine Ministry in Puerto Azul and supported by local dive cooperatives and hotel operators, began in February with an ambitious target of 75 tonnes of plastic recovery by the end of May. Volunteers working across eight primary beach zones have exceeded that goal, with collections now totaling 87 tonnes of mixed plastic waste recovered from nearshore waters and beach surfaces. The initiative represents the most successful quarterly campaign in the region's five-year cleanup history.

The accelerated pace reflects both increased volunteer participation and improved collection infrastructure. The Marine Ministry deployed additional floating collection nets along the northern beaches in March, and three commercial dive operators have integrated plastic recovery into their regular expeditions. Captain Luis Vega, who operates a small-boat fishing service out of Puerto Azul, said his crew has incorporated a weekly cleanup dive into their schedule, recovering between eighty and one hundred twenty kilograms of plastic per outing.

The collected material is being sorted and processed at a recycling facility in Puerto Azul operated in partnership with a regional cooperative. Approximately sixty-three percent of the recovered plastic has been sorted for reprocessing into composite materials; the remainder is destined for energy recovery. The Marine Ministry has not yet announced targets for the second and third quarters, though officials have indicated that the success of the spring campaign may inform planning for the remainder of the year.