Truck battery, vapes and pots: what 200 volunteers pulled from the sea and beach in Porto Belo
A truck battery on the seabed. Vapes among the waste collected by divers. Pots, cutlery and even a construction helmet in the beach cleanup. What showed up during the Limpeza dos Mares stage in Porto Belo this Sunday (the 27th) reveals how far litter can travel, and how much of it stays out of sight of those who enjoy the coast.
From 9am to noon, about 200 volunteers combed the beach while dive teams worked at Caixa d'Aço and on an island. Together, the work fronts removed roughly 800 kg of waste, according to the organizers' estimate.
The stage took place in September to join the mobilization around the Municipal Day of Beach and River Cleanup, established in Porto Belo by Municipal Law No. 3,580/2025. The date is part of the city's calendar and is marked on the third Saturday of the month. Initially planned for the 19th, the Limpeza dos Mares action was moved to this Sunday (the 27th), keeping the purpose of bringing together the project, government and community to care for the municipality's natural environments.
What was on the seabed
On the seabed, divers found tires, nets, ropes, fishing gear, plates, cutlery, a 200-liter drum and a truck battery. The battery stands out for the contamination risk linked to the improper disposal of this kind of material.
On the beach, bags started coming back full minutes after the action began. Cigarette butts, packaging, bottles, cans, glass, styrofoam, tarps and construction materials mixed with diapers, vapes, pots, a beach chair and a bicycle tire. The variety of objects shows the scale of a problem that goes well beyond litter left after a day at the beach.
"It is hard to look at a battery pulled from the seabed and treat it as normal. Every object we found there had an origin and could have had another destination. The cleanup reveals the problem, but the change depends on the choices we make every day," says Michele Castilho Ferrari, coordinator of Limpeza dos Mares.
Project, government and community together
The mobilization gathered Porto Belo residents and volunteers from Greater Florianópolis and Jaraguá do Sul. Students from the Brazilian Navy's Apprentice Sailors School also took part in the collection. The stage was carried out in partnership with the City of Porto Belo, FAMAP and the City Council. The municipality has hosted other Limpeza dos Mares actions before.
Participants had breakfast before the activity. Marina Atlântida provided a boat to transport the divers, and FAMAP supplied grabbers for the collection.
206.5 tonnes removed from the waters
Created in 2014, Limpeza dos Mares combines waste removal and environmental education, with special attention to the "litter no one sees": the kind that stays submerged or trapped in hard-to-reach areas. Up to this stage, the project has already removed 206.5 tonnes of litter from beaches, rivers and underwater environments.
It is proof of an idea ACATMAR stands by: those who sail do not pollute, those who sail want a clean sea. And every object taken from the bottom is one less risk for those who use the water, from the swimmer to the fisher, from the diver to the boat owner.
