Proper Strand Lopers: all together for a clean coast

In summer, thousands of tourists visit the beach of Ostend every day. They bring a huge amount of cans, bottles, plates, cutlery and other waste. Unfortunately, a considerable part of this waste ends up on the beach. A lot of waste also washes up on the beach. It therefore requires a lot of effort to keep the coastline clean. 

Kevin Pierloot, Proper Strand Lopers Oostende (Clean Beach Runners Ostend), explains: "In Ostend, we collect waste from a 500-metre strip of beach on a daily basis. On a good day, after a spell of sunny weather, we easily collect a full cabin of litter."

Westtoer, the public enterprise which promotes the tourism assets of the province of West Flanders, of course places particular focus on the Belgian coast. In this context, increasing emphasis is placed on sustainability and the environment. 

Liesbet Billiet, Region Manager Coast at Westtoer, explains: 'We work together with companies and the public sector to make the transition from linear to circular tourism. We need to ensure we not only have a sustainability vision, but also communicate a circular message".

Proper Strand Lopers enjoy a great deal of appreciation and support from the City of Ostend. Both parties closely work together to limit the amount of litter and make visitors aware of the impact of waste on the beach and sea.

In addition, the City of Ostend has taken other measures such as better coordination by the beach manager of all efforts. This way, an eco-friendly form of tourism and leisure is developed further. The objective is to allow everyone to enjoy a clean beach.

Read more about the topics Blue Tourism and Ocean Pollution & Waste Solutions.