To resolve the long-term cleanliness issue of coasts, oceans, and rivers, the Executive Yuan approved the “Salute to the Ocean: Coastal Cleanup ＆ Maintenance Program,” in which the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) will cooperate with nine ministries, local governments, and civil society organizations to implement this program together. The objective, which is to ensure that every inch of the 1988-km coastline is managed and clean, will be achieved by focusing on five aspects: cleanup, reduction, elimination, transparency, and education. The project this year surveyed coastal waste in Taiwan scientifically. Qualified investigators regularly investigated designated sites. A rapid assessment method developed by a Japanese company was modified and underwent training and repeated verification to conduct the survey. The results indicated that a total of 21.64 million liters of waste was on the coast, which is equivalent to 12,811 liters of coastal waste per kilometer on average. Among the coastal waste, 50% of it accumulated at outlying islands, while 26% was found in Changhua, Yunling, Chiayi, and Tainan. Coastal waste found in the coastlines of Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung only accounted for 3%. The rapid assessments could specifically quantify the coastal waste and identify the hotspots of waste distribution in different jurisdiction coastlines. This method assisted related agencies in formulating effective cleanup plans. Based on the results from last year, this project continued to maintain and improve the existing system and organize various activities. This year, with the primary objective of coastal waste monitoring and investigation, the investigation performance on waste composition and source conducted by local environmental protection agencies was improved by providing counseling services and adopt audit procedures. To show the impact of coastal pollution, this project endeavored to provide coastal environment education and thoroughly implement the core concept of coastal cleanup. Through coastal environment education, this project aimed to enhance the public’s sense of purpose in maintaining the cleanliness of coastal areas. Therefore, one large coastal cleanup event and six coastal cleanups for environmental education with more than 500 participants were held during this project. Incorporating the topic of salute to the ocean, this project established a coastal cleanup information platform. The geographic information system platform helped clarify the responsibilities and obligations of agencies associated with their designated coastal areas, as well as display cleanup results. The three primary functions of the platform, including reporting dirty coasts, reporting cleanup activities, and demonstrating statistical information, were designed to monitor the current state of coastal cleanup. Additionally, the Coastal Cleanup Adoption System introduced data verification on coastal cleanup results and the feasibility assessment on beach cleanup applications through a single-window portal, which will improve the user-friendliness of the system and the performance of business management. As a result, it will be more convenient for the public when applying for a coastal cleanup and filling in the results after a cleanup.

Coastal clean-up, Coastal debris survey, Rapid assessment beach survey