The Cameroon Beach Clean-up Day, more than just an event but a call to action

Close to 50 youth volunteers under the banner of the Association for Community Awareness ASCOA took up the challenge to clean the shore of river Wouri in Douala-Cameroon on Saturday, January 25. 

Achieving trash free beaches in Cameroon by 2030 was the central theme of this 2025 edition of the Cameroon Beach Clean-up Day, that took place in the coastal towns of Limbe, Douala and Kirbi simultaneously on January 25th 2025. For the Douala coastline, the clean-up campaign was along the Douala Naval Base area of the Ports Authority of Douala, an initiative of the Association for Community Awareness ASCOA in partnership with the For Earth's Sake association and GreenPeace Africa. According to the founding president of For Earth’s sake's association, Lizette Ngangue-Bewekedi, the cleanup campaign is to combat the rampant issue of marine debris along all coastlines in Cameroon. The most notable among the debris were plastic bags and bottles of beverages and water, highlighting the devastating impact of plastic pollution on the marine environment. Lizette Ngangue-Bewekedi further affirms that plastic pollution does not only affect marine life but the environment in general, as it blocks waterways and contributes to floods that are often experienced in the city of Douala. For over two hours, close to 50 environmental enthusiasts armed with cleaning equipment paraded the beach area and collected close to 200kg of plastic waste.

An inspiration for others

Beyond cleaning the banks of the river, the event served as a platform to raise awareness about responsible waste disposal habits and the dangers that come with polluting water bodies, while inspiring others to take action and be advocates of clean beaches.  To Lizette Ngangue-Bewekedi, this year's edition of the Cameroon Beach Clean-up goes beyond just cleaning. ‘‘We can clean as much as we can want, but as long as our mindsets do not change, we will have the same results. It may seem slow and discouraging because we might be doing it and not seeing results, but with consistency, I believe that we are going to create the desired impact’’ she added. The young volunteers at the clean-up exercise expressed their satisfaction to have been part of such an experience, which some of them described as their contribution to preserving the environment for the next generations. Mindful of the fact that cleaning the coastline once a year is not sufficient, Lizette Ngangue-Bewekedi, calls on stakeholders in Cameroon's ports areas to beef up actions and intensify the cleaning of beaches in order to achieve the goal of trash-free beaches in Cameroon by 2030. The tons of plastic bottles gathered are collected by recycling companies who transform them into other items. The Cameroon Beach Clean-up Day by ASCOA has evolved into a national event, observed every third Saturday of the month of January.