Clean Up Dangerous Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans

Help Us Clean Up the Life–Threatening Plastic Pollution in Our Oceans!

Our oceans, beaches and sea creatures are choking on overwhelming amounts of plastic waste and trash. Sea turtles see plastic bags underwater and they look exactly like jellyfish to them. Birds and fish are dying with bellies full of plastic. Oysters and other seafood are full of micro plastics and people are eating them. At the rate things are going, plastic will outnumber fish in the oceans by 2050.

The community of Zihuatanejo, Mexico is a small fishing village that has grown into a very popular tourist destination in the past 20+ years. People love the beauty, charm and easy life there, but they leave behind vast amounts of trash, most of it plastic waste. The small bay and limited public resources are inundated, especially during stormy weather, and the beaches are left blanketed in trash washed up from the sea. This area is an important endangered sea turtle and whale habitat, as well as home to many dolphins, fish, and birds. All of these species are negatively impacted by the waste in the bay and nearby ocean.

You can help! Zihro Plastic, an organization located in Zihuatanejo, is stepping up to clean up the trash, while also educating everyone about how to reduce plastic usage. Our goal is to have at least 1 beach clean up and underwater dive clean up every month to remove over a ton of trash from the beaches and sea beds in one year.

Our next clean up event is set for late January, but we need YOUR help to make it a reality. With your help we can clean up the coastline and save wildlife. For just $5 you can provides 1 diver with a full dive tank to clean–up trash in the ocean.

Report from the Field

April 2017

On one dive trip, one of the crew spotted something in the water. They went to investigate and discovered an Olive Ridley sea turtle, which is a threatened species, that was caught up in plastic fishing line. The crew brought her aboard and freed her from the wad of plastic that was just about to drown her. Cut the nets, let her rest for a few minutes. We disinfected the wound and it was deep but it hadn't yet cut into her muscle, just fat. Thanks to the dive crew, she swam away happy to be free of the nets.

The Azulita Project promotes environmental conservation and community health through solution–based programs and education

Zihro Plastic, a branch of the Azulita Project, aims to educate and empower the local community by introducing eco–friendly alternatives to plastics in our daily lives and working together to clean up beaches and seabeds.