This year, Quinton Jegar has a summer job as a beach cleaner. Together with a group of other beach cleaners, he will remove plastic and rubbish on Stjernøya – in the far north of the country. Beach cleaning now has million budgets, and thus it is possible to have this as a paid summer job. Clear Norway is a three-year project where the rugged parts of Norway’s outer coast will be cleared. The Canadian student in Alta is shocked at how much plastic they find. – It is a bit shocking and crazy because it seems that every week we find a new place with lots of rubbish, says Jegar. Canadian student Quinton Jegar in Alta plans to work all season cleaning beaches. Photo: Quinton Jegar He did not expect that there would be so much rubbish on the island that is divided between the three municipalities Alta, Hasvik and Loppa in Western Finnmark. The island has an area of 244 square kilometers and the goal is to clear it by September. Norwegian beaches do not meet the requirements In fact, Norwegian beaches do not meet the EU’s recommendation for marine litter, a new Norwegian study shows. From 2019 to 2022, SALT and Keep Norway Clean have checked 296 different beaches in the Inner Oslofjord, Agder, Møre and Romsdal and Troms and Finnmark. The beach cleaners clean Stjernøya Monday to Thursday every week throughout the summer. Photo: Quinton Jegar The EU’s recommendation is that at least 50 percent of the beaches should have fewer than 20 objects of marine litter per 100 meters. Only 15 per cent of the beaches in the Inner Oslo Fjord were satisfied and a third of the remaining beaches in the country. The report shows that the most common object to be found were unidentified pieces of plastic. – This report shows us that data from voluntary clean-up is valuable and can be an even more important source of knowledge in the future with some adjustments, says general manager of Keep Norway Clean, Lise Gulbransen, to NTB. Big problem Alta company Æventyr is one of several that have received money from Handelens Miljøfond and the Clean Norway project to clean beaches. – I think it is a great initiative, and it is a big problem with marine litter, says Ådne Listog in Æventyr. Thus, this year, as last year, they have advertised beach cleaning as a summer job. And there is great interest in the summer jobs, according to Listog. Adventure is one of several companies that pay people to pick up trash. Photo: Quinton Jegar Money from carrier bags In three years, 40 percent of Norway’s outer coast, Svalbard and priority watercourses will be cleared. Handelens Miljøfond has set aside approximately NOK 220 million to clear beaches, this year alone. Where does the money for Handelens Miljøfond come from? Yes, from the carrier bags you and I buy at the store. Quinton Jegar and the team have collected a lot of rubbish at a depot which is later picked up and transported to a waste facility. Photo: Quinton Jegar Øuinton Jegar has mixed feelings that beach cleaning is now a paid job. On the one hand, he is happy to do something meaningful and in addition to spend time on a fantastic island. – But it is also in a way depressing that today it is a paid job. Due to the huge amount of plastic that ends up in nature, there will never be a shortage of work.
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Clearing of Norwegian beaches has become a million business – news Troms and Finnmark
