Members of the international understanding club at Prefectural Toon High School in Toon, Ehime Prefecture, are teaming up with local foreign residents to clean up the beaches. Their goal is to protect the region’s ocean by picking up trash along the coast and developing a system that allows tourists to easily participate.
On a recent Saturday, five club members and seven foreign residents living in the prefecture gathered at Horie Beach in Matsuyama armed with trash tongs. They spent about an hour collecting plastic bottles that had washed ashore on the beach and rocks. In total, they filled around 10 garbage bags. The volunteers expressed their frustration at how much trash there always seems to be.
One of the foreign residents who participated was Pablo Cisneros, a 29-year-old U.S.-born assistant language teacher in Seiyo City. He joined because he wanted to support efforts to keep Ehime’s beaches clean.
The club began focusing on marine litter in 2022 when Hana Watanabe, currently serving as club president and a third-year student, came up with the idea during her first year at school. Watanabe was shocked as a child by seeing large amounts of trash on coastal areas in Ehime Prefecture.
Since then, they have organized beach cleaning activities multiple times each year and invited foreign residents to join them. They also partnered with an environmental protection organization based in Okinawa to make it easier for visitors and beachgoers to participate.
Local coastal restaurants and businesses have registered with this organization to support cleaning efforts. For ¥500 (approximately $4), they provide gloves and garbage bags for tourists who want to help clean up the beaches. After collecting trash, tourists return full bags back to these participating stores. The ¥500 fee helps cover campaign costs such as public relations and operations.
KaRuu, an international restaurant near Horie Beach, became the first business in Matsuyama’s coastal area to participate when approached by members of the club during spring 2023. Restaurant owner Takuya Ito expressed his concern about the ongoing trash problem at beaches and welcomed more options for addressing it.
To expand their activities further, club members have been distributing flyers at commercial facilities throughout their community. Their hope is that more people will lend a hand in preserving this beautiful ocean for future generations.
