Egypt is one of the largest countries in the generation of waste, which exceeds 90 million tons annually, and this waste is a golden opportunity to recycle it. Tailings like hunter Thayo.
Thayo didn’t know much about recycling or the meaning of waste, but when it came to “eating his living” he decided there had to be a pause and decided to try to change reality after a wave of plastic-strewn water crashed over our fisherman “Babakar Thayo” while he was paddling in The sea and here decided to act.
By the time the water under his surfboard brought him back to Virage Beach on the north coast of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, Thayou had a plan that would benefit the surfing community he had built there.
A center for young Senegalese surfers and the organization of beach clean-ups
Within a year, he had transformed the Copacabana Surf Village, which he founded with his father two decades ago, into a hub for young Senegalese surfers, organizing beach clean-ups, environmental courses for children and the first zero-waste restaurant in Senegal. The café has signs explaining to customers why they should not use plastic bottles, straws, coffee pods or sugar sachets. In a country that generates a huge amount of plastic waste, much of it not collected properly, Thaeo found the work challenging, but he is convinced it is important for a city where people are connected. closely associated with the sea.
“We live this every day, we see it every day – in the sea, on the beach,” the fisherman told the Guardian. Sometimes you go to the sea and it seems all the trash of the country has gathered there. I love the area here, but if I were to be condemned to live with all this rubbish forever, it would be sad,” he added. “This is our recreation area, but also look at How many people live on it – people like me, fishermen, guys selling sunglasses on the beach. It’s a vital economy and if we lose it, like we did during Covid, when everything was shut down, it’s going to be very difficult for the people who work here.”
Turn their beach spot into a surfboard rental business
Thaeo grew up in a fishing village near the beach, the foundations of the Copacabana surf village were laid by his fisherman father, who after a day’s work would head to Virage Beach to surf on a board, they had managed to turn their beach spot into a business by renting boards Surfing lessons are offered later with the help of visiting surfers abroad.
It is now a popular surfing spot, attracting tourists and expats. It is also a place where Thayo teaches Senegalese youth how to surf and take care of the surroundings in which they spend so much time.
“When we come to the water to surf, we can see how much plastic ends up here and it bothers us,” says Mohamed Sarr, 17, who was taught to surf by Thaeo.
Sar says he is becoming more aware of how to use and dispose of plastic because he and his family, who live near the sea, are directly affected, without the beach we cannot do our sport. If we don’t take care of the beach, we can’t surf. When we throw plastic into the sea, we are destroying our environment and also harming the fish that we eat.
