2022 Smoke and Waves Love Sea Guardian Action, Great Offensive!
The partners of Yanbo work together to "circumnavigate the island to fulfill the protection of the ocean," practicing marine sustainability.
This year, led by the Wilderness Conservation Association, the Yanbo partners have implemented the group's 2022 marine sustainability goals, achieving the island-wide beach cleanup activities, from promoting a plastic reduction lifestyle and understanding the ocean to picking up marine waste.
- Total123 peopleYen Po partners participate
- Guard2000 metersthe coastline
- clear802.9 kilogramsmarine waste garbage
The collected plastic bottles are nearly the height of an 85-story building.
Yen Po International Tourism Group has been deeply rooted in Taiwan for over 26 years, continuously adhering to the concept of coexisting harmoniously with the environment. In 2022, it launched a series of marine sustainability initiatives in collaboration with the "Wildlife Conservation Association" to promote environmental protection efforts in Taiwan and globally. This includes planning a four-phase internal training program, which consists of an online sharing session on reducing plastic for the entire group, marine environmental education promotion lectures in four cities around the island, two beach cleanup leader training courses in the east and west, and four corporate beach cleanup actions around Taiwan. From conveying marine knowledge to establishing an emotional connection with the ocean, practical actions are taken to protect marine ecology, contributing to the sustainability efforts for the beautiful Taiwan and the Earth.
Let's review the love for the ocean protection actions of the Yanbo partners this year!
The instructor from the Wilderness Conservation Association shared via video connection on the theme of "Living Well with Less Plastic."
After the sharing session, we deepened our awareness of the harm that plastic brings to the Earth and humanity. Sea turtles suffer death from ingesting plastic bags, and marine fish unknowingly swallow plastic particles, with schools of fish filled with plastic returning to the dining table as human food. The pollution from plastic has far exceeded our imagination.
The wilderness instructors also provided us with many good methods for daily plastic reduction, letting us know that reducing plastic is actually very simple. This year, the Yanbo Group has also leveraged its corporate influence by installing bamboo charcoal drinking water systems on the floors of its hotels, replacing the original bottled mineral water in guest rooms, and encouraging travelers to use eco-friendly water bottles to reduce the use of single-use plastics from the source.
The instructor from the Wilderness Conservation Association led the partners of Yanbo to explore the mysteries of the ocean with the theme "Revisiting the Ocean."
(The images from left to right, top to bottom are: Hsinchu venue, Tainan venue, Hualien venue, Yilan venue)
Taiwan has a unique geographical environment and rich marine resources, but we, who grow up in this blessed land, have never truly understood the ocean. Through this lecture, the instructor from the Wilderness Conservation Association led us to re-recognize the ocean, appreciating its beauty, uniqueness, and importance.
The Smoke and Waves International Tourism Group also plans to continue expanding in the beautiful eastern coastal cities over the next five years. Everything about the ocean is closely connected with us, and we hope to spread more seeds of love for the ocean, convey rich marine knowledge, and provide travelers with a more professional and high-quality travel experience.
The Wilderness Conservation Association explains the statistical concepts and methods of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) record form. (The images from left to right are: Hsinchu site, Hualien site)
The Wilderness Conservation Association regularly monitors the ocean and records changes in Taiwan's coastline every year, and continues to promote the use of the Taiwan International Coastal Cleanup Action Record (ICC Record) to collect marine waste data, thereby understanding the garbage pollution issues faced by various coastal areas. Through this collaboration with the Wilderness Conservation Association, the Yanbo International Tourism Group has cultivated professional beach cleanup team leaders who will assist various hotels in organizing ocean-loving beach cleanup activities in the future, leading Yanbo partners and travelers to use the ICC Record for marine waste monitoring and caring for the local coastline.
While the Yambo International Tourism Group advocates for sustainable marine tourism, Yambo partners decided to step out of the hotel and onto the beach to fulfill their commitment to loving the ocean through practical actions. The 2022 Yambo Island Circumnavigation to protect the ocean officially started, with the first stop departing from Hsinchu to Tainan, Hualien, and Yilan, totaling four beach cleanup activities.More than 120 partners participated.to protect nearly 2000 meters of coastline,A total of 802.9 kilograms of marine waste was cleared.The amount of PET bottles collected is nearly the height of an 85-story building!
First stop: Hsinchu - Xiangshan Bird Watching Area Beach
There is so much garbage on this beach located next to the famous 17-kilometer coastal bike path in Hsinchu, and everyone on site was shocked! A large amount of garbage was washed ashore by the ocean currents, forming a long garbage coastline. The team also discovered many bottles that originally did not belong to Taiwan, indicating that they had drifted across the sea from other countries.
Participating venues: Yambu Hsinchu Lakeside Hotel, Yambu Hsinchu Metropolitan Hotel
Beach cleanup results: a total of 436 kilograms of marine waste was removed.
TOP1: 839 glass bottles
TOP2: 632 plastic bottles
TOP3: 588 plastic bottle caps
Special waste: fishing boat light bulbs
That day, under the blazing sun of 35 degrees, everyone worked hard to pick up trash, averaging 10 kilograms of garbage per person, and even the wilderness volunteers gave high praise!
Second stop: Tainan - Golden Coast
Golden Coast is a popular beach destination for Tainan residents and tourists. From a distance, the beautiful beach seems to sparkle with colorful debris. We used a sieve to filter the sand and discovered that the beach is filled with a large amount of plastic micro-particles. At the same time, our companions also found firework packaging on the beach, clearly indicating that these plastic micro-particles are remnants produced after the fireworks were launched.
Participating venue: Yambo Tainan Hotel
Beach cleanup results: a total of 28.9 kilograms of marine waste was removed.
TOP1: 1,055 cigarette butts
TOP2: 193 plastic bottle caps
TOP3: 41 PET bottles
Special waste: fireworks, firecrackers, and the debris generated after use.
Through this beach cleanup activity, I realized that plastic micro-particles not only harm marine life but have also severely endangered the safety of travelers walking barefoot on the beach.
Third stop: Hualien - Manbo Beach
Manbo Beach is adjacent to the Yanbo Hualien Taroko Park, so the partners picked up trash along the way from the hotel to the beach. In addition to picking up scattered garbage, they also discovered six large bags of household waste maliciously discarded in the roadside bushes, as well as mask waste generated during the pandemic. The Yanbo partners sincerely hope that this private beach near the hotel can be jointly maintained, and that everyone can be environmentally conscious and responsible travelers, protecting this beautiful and comfortable environment for the Earth and for the next group of visitors.
Participating venues: Yen Po Hualien Hotel, Yen Po Hualien Taroko Chinhai Hotel, Yen Po Hualien Flower Time.
Beach cleanup results: A total of 148.8 kilograms of marine waste was removed.
TOP1: 323 plastic bottles
TOP2: 94 cigarette butts
TOP3: 81 iron and aluminum cans
Special waste: masks, maliciously discarded household waste
Fourth stop: Yilan - Wutougang Beach
Wutai Harbor is Taiwan's first waterbird sanctuary and a crucial stopover for migratory birds during the autumn and winter seasons. As a result, it attracts many migratory birds each year seeking food and rest. However, the garbage-filled shores not only prevent the birds from resting properly but also pose a risk of death due to the ingestion of waste. After continuous heavy rain in Yilan, a large amount of marine waste mixed with dead branches, broken stems, and driftwood made the beach cleanup process extremely challenging. Nevertheless, the partners continuously searched through the crevices to find various types of marine waste, making efforts to contribute to the beauty of this beach.
Participating venues: Yen Po Yilan Hotel, Yen Po Su'ao Four Seasons Hot Spring Hotel, Yen Po Flower Time Yilan Cultural and Creative Park
Beach cleanup results: A total of 189.2 kilograms of marine waste was removed.
TOP1: 341 plastic bottles
TOP2: 100 glass bottles
TOP3: 73 pieces of disposable utensils, 73 plastic bottle caps
Special waste: polystyrene, slippers, water pipes, light bulbs
Through this round-the-island beach cleanup activity, it can be observed that the marine waste problems in different regions vary, but the one constant is that the number of plastic bottles ranks among the top three in marine waste, indicating that they cause significant harm to the environment.
During the Love the Sea Guardian Action process, we also recognized the British brand Kind Bag, which shares the same ocean sustainability理念 as Yanbo. Its products are made from recycled plastic bottles sourced from landfills and marine waste, using recycling technology to transform waste into sustainable fashion shopping bags. This not only helps solve the marine plastic waste problem but also gives new life to waste.
The Yanbo International Tourism Group presents this meaningful gift of marine sustainability to every partner participating in the seed training and beach cleanup activities, allowing partners to not only practice "reducing plastic" and "picking up plastic," but also to understand the positive sustainable recycling value of PET bottle recycling and "reuse."
Yuanbo International Tourism Group will continue to uphold the concept of environmental harmony and move towards the goal of sustainable travel in the future, contributing to the ocean and the Earth. We also hope that travelers visiting Yuanbo in the future can join us in starting from a love for the sea and become sustainable travelers.
