CLEANING UP ON EARTH DAY

About Sustainable Coastlines
https://www.sustainablecoastlineshawaii.org/

About Society of American Military Engineers
https://classic.same.org/honolulu

Invest in Our Planet was the theme for this year’s World Earth Day. Seems a very appropriate description of SSFM’s commitment to sustainability.

On the 53rd observance of this important day of environmental awareness, SSFM joined the Society of American Military Engineers Honolulu Post to participate in Sustainable Coastline’s volunteer cleanup at Waimanalo Beach Park. “We arrived to find a beach surprisingly clear of trash,” explains SSFM’s Amy Taniguchi. “Our focus for the day was to sift the sand to remove microplastics.”

The turnout was much greater than expected to where the event ran out of supplies. People were using their own containers to collect the microplastics and perhaps take home as a keepsake. Participants came from all over the island and even other countries. They ranged in age from their 90s to babies strapped to their parent’s backs, and included lots of Japanese tourists. The clean-up was a great success but Sustainable Coastline’s long-term goal is to stop this kind of pollution before it starts. While professionally, SSFM is making tremendous contributions at a corporate level, this Earth Day outing was a chance to make a contribution at a very personal level.