Waste Free Project: TBS students organize to clean the beach

Walking along Barceloneta beach, it is common to find all kinds of waste: glass, cigarette butts, paper… but above all plastics. Most of this waste is not biodegradable, and plastics are especially harmful. As a result of waves and ultraviolet radiation, plastics eventually fragment into small fibers, becoming microplastics. This type of waste is particularly damaging, not only for marine life that ingests them but also for humans.

Waste Free Project

The Waste Free Project was born precisely out of the concern of some Bachelor in Management students at TBS in Barcelona to reverse this situation. The project is part of the Citizen Service and consists of cleaning up Barcelona’s beaches by collecting waste. Besides, it also focuses on raising public awareness.

Charlie Monfared, one of the project’s environmental advocates, explains that the project aims to reduce plastic pollution, make beaches more comfortable, improve the environment for marine species, as well as to increase public engagement and awareness.

Monfared explains that they started the initiative with five people, but the idea soon spread, and they ended up being eleven. “We started cleaning the beach on Sunday, and we plan to pick up litter for three and a half hours every week to keep to the schedule. Besides, they are planning some extra activities. For example, they have opened an Instagram account (@wastefree.bcn) to post everything they do. They are also preparing a video that they will show to the whole TBS community.

“It’s amazing how much rubbish we found last Sunday, each of us filled a huge bag, mostly plastic, and in total, we collected around 25 liters of rubbish,” says Charlie. He explains that it was great but also tiring “it was great teamwork, I think that’s the TBS spirit, to help each other and collaborate.” He adds that he is happy to be cultivating skills that will be very useful for the future while helping the environment. They plan to continue cleaning the beach every Sunday until the beginning of April and prepare a final report with their impressions.

Citizen service

Citizen service is a voluntary service in charitable organizations that is part of the Bachelor in Management program at TBS. This service aims to promote students’ sense of responsibility and awareness. Some of the NGOs and organizations with which TBS collaborates are Caritas, Catnova, Pure Clean Earth, Amics de la Gent Gran, or Fundació Roure. Most of the students finish the program very happy and committed to volunteering, making it much further than they had initially set out to do.