On June 25, from 7 am to8:30 am, Environmental Protection in the Caribbean Sint Maarten (EPIC) is hosting a cleanup at Hope Estate, starting next to Marie Genevieve de Weever School. The cleanup is the second of a dozen cleanups EPIC will be hosting this year as part of their “Why do we litter? – Sint Maarten” project funded by R4CR.

As part of this project, volunteers will not only assist with community cleanups but also collect data on littering habits and insights of both residents and visitors. With this data, EPIC aims to formulate sustainable and actionable follow-up steps toward preventing litter in Sint Maarten.

“During the last cleanup in the Cay Hill area, with the help of 27volunteers, we collected 626 pounds of litter in an hour,” share EPIC’s Project Coordinators Riddhi Samtani and Laura Bijnsdorp. “We look forward to another successful cleanup in Hope Estate this Saturday, June 25, at 7 am.”

Volunteers can sign up via https://www.volunteer.sx/o/EPIC1/opportunities/EPIC-Hope-Estate-Cleanup/54031 and will be provided with gloves, reusable garbage bags, and refreshments. Volunteers are advised to wear closed shoes and are requested to download the ‘Clean Swell’ app on their (charged) phones, beforehand, to help collect data during the cleanup.

Updates about this project and cleanup dates can be found on EPIC’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/epicislands. For more information or inquiries into collaborations, please contact the Project Coordinators at projects@epicislands.org.

EPIC Sint Maarten is anon-profit organization founded in 2007 with the mission of protecting the Caribbean environment through research and community-based action in Sint Maarten. This project, “Why do we litter – Sint Maarten?”, is funded by the Government of the Netherlands under the Sint Maarten Trust fund, implemented by Resources for Community Resilience (R4CR), administered by VNGI, and overseenby The WorldBank. For more information about EPIC’s work visit: www.epicislands.org.

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