Egypt has conducted its longest-ever beach cleanup campaign, stretching over 5 kilometres of Alexandria's coast on the Mediterranean Sea, a statement by the Ministry of Environment said on Sunday. The ministry hopes for the campaign, which has covered eight beaches, to be listed in the Guinness world records for being the largest of its kind, a ministry statement said. The World Beach Cleanup day – which comes on the 18th of September yearly – is a UN recognized global initiative that is celebrated worldwide. The campaign was conducted in partnership with Banlastik, an environmental conservation organization, and other partners, the ministry said. The campaign raised citizens' awareness of the problems of marine litter and its impact on the environment and marine organisms. Yasmine Fouad, the minister of environment, expressed her pride in the campaign for all the public awareness it has raised and the spreading and expansion of a more conservationist culture. She also called for the protection of the sea in favour of a more sustainable environment. The efforts of the ministry come in context of a growing wide-spread attention towards environmental issues. The ministry has been developing other plans for combating climate change and all around pollution as part of the National Programme for Solid Waste Management of the Ministry of Environment, a governmental scheme aiming to reduce pollution.
