Sweeping the Shoreline: Communities Unite Against Plastic Pollution, One Bottle at a Time

This blog is the fourth in a series of four blog articles that will highlight marine conservation work in Ivory Coast. Scroll below to access the first three parts of the series.

In Part 1 of our project, the mission team’s first survey of the Sassandra-Fresco coastline found a serious environmental problem where plastic waste was scattered across the same beaches where sea turtles come to nest. Weeks later, with support from Born Free USA, Ivory Coast’s Wildlife Authorities (DFRC) returned to take action.

Community Beach Clean-ups

Running from July 30 to August 2, 2026, in the very same nine villages where fishers were learning to safely release captured turtles (see Part 3), a team armed with rakes, shovels, disposable gloves, and 100-liter sacks set out for the beaches. In each village, residents turned out to help, splitting into two groups to clean the plastic waste on the beach outward from the village center for several hundred meters in each direction.

They collected 69 bags of plastic waste in total, and temporarily stored them at the local forestry offices in Sassandra and Fresco while awaiting pickup and safe disposal by municipal authorities.

More Than a Clean Beach

Every clean-up session doubled as another chance to reinforce the program’s core message: the team distributed awareness materials on sea turtle, dolphin, and manatee protection in each village, meaning these nine villages now have a visible reminder of why the beach they just cleaned matters in the first place.

The Work That’s Still Ahead

Sixty-nine bags is a real, tangible result, but DFRC’s own field report is candid about what it doesn’t solve. Plastic pollution on this coast is persistent, and a single clean-up won’t reverse it. What will help is exactly what this four-part series has been building toward. The answer lies in sustained clean-up efforts, continued education, improved waste management, and closer collaboration between the authorities and technical services responsible for the region and the communities who live here.

A longer-term vision is also taking shape, as we explore opportunities to transform this stretch of coastline into a source of sustainable ecotourism income for the very villages now protecting it.

Looking Back on the Series

Over four missions, a small DFRC team, with Born Free USA’s support, mapped eleven nesting sites, rescued a manatee calf, educated 331 residents and fishermen, trained 199 fishermen in safe turtle release leading to the release of a critically endangered hawksbill sea turtles trapped in nets, and pulled 69 bags of plastic off the beaches these species depend on. None of it works without the communities who showed up at every stage, in coordination meetings, in information sessions, in training rooms, and on the beach with a rake in hand.

How You Can Help

Support our work to help Born Free USA and DFRC carry this program into its next phase where we will monitor more nesting beaches, train more fishermen, and protect more coastline.

More from this Series

Part One: On the Trail of Turtles: Mapping Hidden Nesting Beaches in Ivory Coast

Part Two: 331 Coastal Voices: Building Committees to Protect Marine Life in Ivory Coast

Part Three: Turning the Tide in Ivory Coast: Training 199 Fishers to Save Sea Turtles Caught in Their Nets

Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
Alice