Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) successfully concluded its biannual beach clean-up initiatives that were carried out across four consecutive Saturdays of October at the Galle, Trincomalee, Kalutara and Uswetakeiyawa beaches respectively. Together with volunteers, over a ton of plastic waste were collected, all of which were sorted out and sent to recycling centers after.
At leasta hundred volunteers, including travel bloggers, Travel with Wife, The Sailor, Road to Rights Foundation and Marine Environment Protection Authority who provided guidance throughout, participated in the beach clean-ups. In particular, Abdul Safthar Ilyas, Managing Director, Plastech Polymer Recycling right collection points according to weight and size.
Chrishan Fernando, Country Manager, Sri Lanka, Dell Technologies, also actively took part in the beach clean ups. He addressed all volunteers and reiterated on the importance of the initiatives as part of Dell Technologies 2030 Progress Made Real vision.
Speaking at the finale held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Chrishan Fernando, Country Manager, Sri Lanka and Maldives, Dell Technologies, said: “We’ve championed various initiatives to inspire better practices in the communities and industries. Through this successful beach clean-up initiative, we hope to be able to facilitate and inspire meaningful changes to protect the planet and empower local communities.’’
Research estimates that an average of 8 million metric tons of plastic materials enter the world’s oceans annually, and that amount is increasing by 7 percent per year. By 2050, leading scientists predict there could be more plastic than fish in the sea. One key way to address this problem is to prevent plastics from entering the ocean in the first place. At Dell Technologies, we prioritize regenerative resources– recycled content and rapidly renewable materials that can be used across products and packaging.
Dell Technologies pioneered the use of ocean-bound plastics in our packaging, incorporating plastics collected from beaches, waterways and coastal areas into the protective trays for the XPS 13 2-in-1 laptops.
Added Fernando: “Scaling this effort to recycle plastics is critically important to us. One of our visions for 2030 is to ensure 100 percent of our product packaging is sourced from sustainable materials.We have used 40,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastics so far and in support of United Nation Sustainable Development Goal 14, we committed to increase annual usage 10x by 2025.”
To educate on the importance of environmental preservation and emphasize the dire consequences of ocean pollution, Dell Technologies organized an art competition for all children volunteers. Themed ‘Save the Waves’, children volunteers created artwork portraying the pollution in oceans and beaches. Three winners were selected and were presented with Dell Technologies laptops and accessories.
