KAUNAKAKAI, Hawaii (KHON2) — The Nature Conservancy’s Hawaii Chapter (TNC) was able to remove more than 46,000 pounds of marine debris from remote beaches at the Moomomi Preserve on Molokai in the last quarter of 2020.
The Moomomi Preserve on the island’s northwestern shore is one of Hawaii’s most important green sea turtle nesting habitats, according to TNC, but it is also an area where thousands of pounds of marine debris washes up every year.
The conservancy group says, COVID-19 presented challenges but the dedication of the community helped to get the job done.
“This year, we were still able to remove a lot of marine debris in spite of COVID-19, thanks to our partners and community pulling together and doing the work in a safe, physically distant way.”
Wailana Moses, TNC’s Molokai field coordinator
The trash was gathered into 133 large bags and then flown by helicopter to two 40-foot shipping containers — which were full by the end of the project.
The containers filled with trash were then shipped to Oahu before the contents were burned at the Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Power (H-POWER).
Cleanups over the last five years at Moomomi have removed eight shipping containers full of trash, amounting to approximately 368,000 pounds of marine debris being cleared from the Preserve.
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