NIRANJAN Autoport Pte Ltd marked the annual Suzuki Marine’s “Clean Up the World” campaign by bagging up to 246.1 kilograms of rubbish through their own clean-up campaign at the Suva foreshore last Saturday.
The ‘Clean Up the World’ campaign was introduced by renowned Japanese motor brand Suzuki in 2010 with the aim of contributing to a better marine environment for the future.
More than 17000 people have participated in the campaign till date.
In Fiji, the event was observed by Niranjan’s Autoport as distributors of the outboard motor brand in the country.
“2025 commemorates the 60th anniversary of Suzuki Marine, and to continue to make our utmost effort for environmental protection, it is now time for us to review how we have been contributing to the environment and society and determine our direction,” Niranjan’s Suzuki Fiji dealership development manager Shamal Singh said.
“As well as continuing our worldwide clean-up campaign, Suzuki Marine is also committed to taking responsible actions against marine plastic waste issues. This is how we came to set out on the new activities and make the logo, ‘Suzuki Clean Ocean Project’, to show the world our commitment.
“As custodians of the lands and waters, the future of the ocean and its greater marine life is in our hands to ensure its security and sustainability.”
Mr Singh said in their effort to conserve the ocean, they had taken three important actions:
1. Clean-Up the World campaign – the root of our awareness of environmental issues and the ‘Suzuki Clean Ocean Project’, which spreads from Japan to Europe, East Asia, the Pacific and as far as Latin America.
2. Reduce plastic packaging – In order to be more considerate towards our planet, we are making efforts not only to gather plastic waste but also to reduce the plastic packaging from our products.
From September 2021, materials such as plastic packing tape and plastic band have been replaced with alternative materials for packaging, thus reducing over 52 tons of plastic materials.
3. Collect marine micro-plastic waste – Suzuki has developed the Micro-Plastic Collecting Device (MPC) for its selective outboard models. This device enables outboard motors to collect micro-plastics without affecting the engine performance or harming the environment.
“Education is key, and we Fijians need to be educated about the importance of the environment and marine conservation. It starts with us; every individual, it starts today and right now,” Mr Singh said.
A team from the Environment and Climate Change Ministry also took part in the cleanup.
The more than 240 kilograms of rubbish collected along the stretch from Suva Bowling Club to the Fiji Revenue Customs Services at Nasese comprised of plastic bottles, paper, glass, cans, clothes, general plastic and metal.
