To clean the coasts, oceans, and rivers, the Executive Yuan approved the “Salute to the Ocean: Coastal Cleanup ＆ Maintenance Program (2020-2023)” on May 7, 2020. The Program is jointly implemented by 9 ministries, including the Environmental Protection Administration, along with the local governments. Multiple measures on “reducing waste from the source” have been promoted simultaneously, such as waste management from the source in the fishery industry, capturing wastes floating on rivers, and monitoring coastal landfills. Through working collaboratively, the ministries are making every possible effort to maintain a clean coastal environment in our country. This Project continues to monitor and survey coastal wastes. The analysis of Q1 2019 to Q3 2021 shows that most of the wastes were “domestic waste” and those resulting from “recreational behaviors,” which makes up 59% to 90% of the wastes. In addition, analyses were conducted to understand whether the epidemic affected the number of disposable utensils found in coastal wastes. The results showed that no significant increase was identified in the number of disposable, take-out containers after the first wave of the epidemic in March 2020 (Q1). However, during the second wave of epidemic impact in May(Q2) to Q3 2021, a slight increase of disposable, take-out containers was found in coastal wastes. To coordinate with the “Salute to the Ocean: Coastal Cleanup ＆ Maintenance Program,” this project developed various functionalities for each ministry to manage the coastal cleanup results online more efficiently. Improvements include continuously updating the drawings in the systems of 220 responsible authorities, developing the upload section for matching information on reusable items, and the statistical reports on the performance assessment related to Salute to the Ocean. It is expected that the labor hours required to summarize the information are reduced by 4 hours. In addition, to make it more convenient for the general public to apply for a coastal cleanup event, the following functionalities have been developed: a one-stop platform for coastal cleanup applications, surveying the difficulty to apply for a coastal cleanup, and providing a coastal cleanup event calendar. It is estimated that these functionalities can save more than an hour for people to select a coastal cleanup.

Coastal clean-up, Coastal waste survey, Environmental Education