Takashima Island Beach Cleanup in Karatsu Involves All 13 Elementary School Students on Environment Day, Partnering with Karatsu Minami High School and Saga Ballooners

On the beach of Takashima, participants gathered with a banner reading "Plusma Life Saga."

NPO Karatsu Farm & Food (based in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture; Representative Director: Nozomi Hamaguchi) conducted a marine debris educational lecture and beach cleanup on June 5, Environment Day, on Takashima, an island in Karatsu City, Saga Prefecture, with all 13 students of Takashima Elementary School.

In the morning, the students learned about marine waste in the classroom, and in the afternoon, they recovered drifted waste from the island's shores. The collected waste filled eight garbage bags along with fishing buoys and tanks, totaling two handcart-loads. The children documented the type, quantity, and origin of each item.

This initiative is part of an environmental education project touring the remote islands of Karatsu with children. Following Ogawashima in 2023, Kakarashima in 2024, and Mawarishima in 2025, the fourth year, 2026, took place on Takashima, which is famous for Hoto Shrine.

Marine Debris Lesson Led by High Schoolers, Pro Sports Team, and NPO During the morning lecture, students from Karatsu Minami High School (Nijinomatubara Project / Marine Research Group) presented their environmental activities. Representatives from the Saga Ballooners professional basketball team shared their environmental initiatives, and the NPO explained the mechanism of how waste drifts from distant seas to this small island.

Cleanup Activities and Children's Discoveries In the afternoon, the cleanup took place on the beach. Participants collected plastic bottles, styrofoam, fishing floats, and a weathered soccer ball from between rocks. Finding bottles with foreign labels helped the children intuitively understand that oceans have no borders.

The breakdown of the collected waste was as follows: - Plastic bottles: 3 bags - Burnable waste: 3 bags - Non-burnable waste: 2 bags - Fishing buoys (floats): 4 units - Blue tank: 1 unit

Upcycling: Cleanup as the Starting Point, Not the Goal At the venue, a message from Saga Prefecture's 3R promotion campaign "Plusma Life Saga," "Choose, Reduce, and Recycle," was displayed. The children realized that picking up trash is not the final goal, but rather the beginning of questioning why so much waste exists.

This island project will continue until November. On June 19, a workshop will be held where the children will upcycle the plastic bottle caps collected during this event into keychains shaped like Takashima Island.

Representative Comment "While it is gratifying to see the beach cleaned up, I want the children to pause and think about why so much trash drifts here. Collecting a single bottle with foreign writing communicates that oceans have no borders far quicker than any explanation. I hope this day serves as a starting point for them to begin reducing waste, rather than viewing the cleanup as the end goal." — Hiroaki Kojima, Vice Director of NPO Karatsu Farm & Food

Collaborating Entities - Takashima Elementary School - Karatsu Minami High School (Nijinomatubara Project / Marine Research Group) - Saga Ballooners - Saga Prefecture Department of Citizens and Environment Circular Society Promotion Division - NPO Karatsu Farm & Food (Precious Plastic Karatsu)