UNITED STAR OF EUROPE: FINLAND/FINNLAND

The beach is my living room, the sea my television

Moi! I'm Inkeri and I'm a beachcomber and -cleaner who lives in Hanko which is the southernmost tip of the Finnish mainland. Hanko peninsula is surrounded by the sea in almost every direction. I moved to this beautiful sea town back in 2014 and since then I've been cleaning the shoreline and nearby islands here.

My aim is to raise the awareness of the fact that there's a plastic pollution problem also in the Baltic Sea. The main wind direction in the Baltic Sea region is from southwest which keeps washing up a lot marine debris on our shoreline. That's why our shores and islands are the dirtiest in the whole area, just everything floats here.

I keep on finding all kind of plastic bits, small and big, on the shoreline. The number one plastic litter here are the nurdles. It's almost impossible to pick up these little round plastic pellets. Among them you can find just anything floating in the Baltic Sea: fridges, toxic waste, fluorescent lamps, all kind of medicines... just to name a few. But this is not only about litter, it's also finding some little treasures. It's every time interesting to go to the beach, because you never know what you'll find!

I'm cleaning the beaches and islands with my boyfriend Simo Nyrönen. The island clean-up season is from autumn until spring. We don't do them when the birds are nesting. We try to do island clean-ups without burning fossil fuels with a little sail boat, but sometimes we have to use a motor boat too (if the haul is very big).

Beach cleaning is both great exercise for the body and doing good at the same time. It also keeps me mentally fit as I get to move around in the nature and see the result right away after cleaning the beach or island. I'm posting photos of my clean-ups on social media to show people how polluted our Baltic Sea and hopefully can encourage other people do the same. Let's take care of our precious Baltic Sea!

PS: Here you can read an article about me.

Instagram: @roskapostia_hangosta