To commemorate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the Earth Day Network collaborated with Hollywood actor Zac Efron and Earth Day Co-Founder David Haynes for The Great Global Cleanup, an hour-long special event which aired on the Discovery Channel. The show documented the efforts of sport stars, celebrities and volunteers from around the world, in helping to clean up the earth and remove as much trash as possible from their environment.
For his part, Tongan Olympian Pita Taufatofua teamed up with the Ocean Crusaders, an Australian charity organisation dedicated to cleaning Australian waterways. They travelled to South Stradmore Island, a remote beach off the coast of Brisbane to assist in a beach clean-up.
Speaking with the filmmakers, Taufatofua says the project “gives me an opportunity to show you guys that trash can come from anywhere in the world and can end up in any other place in the world”.
From plastic bottles to shoes and even an unfortunate turtle who died struggling to free itself from an abandoned fishing net, Taufatofua is astounded by the amount and variation of waste washed up on the beach. Visibly mortified, Taufatofua says, “This experience has really opened up my eyes to the importance of keeping our oceans and beaches clean.” He and the Ocean Crusaders managed to clear 5 tons of rubbish (4535.92 kgs) from only half of the beach.
Launched by the Earth Day Network in January this year, The Great Global Cleanup was expected to be the biggest volunteer event in history with multiple cleanup events planned around the world. However, many of these events were cancelled due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
You can check out Pita in The Great Global Cleanup as captured by the Ocean Crusaders Facebook page below:
