A dirty beach in Flateyri

Volunteers taking participating on a camp in Flateyri, in the Westfjords, were amazed when they took part in coastal cleanup activities. The coastline near Flateyri is very dirty, and is full of waste. The problem is escalated by the presence of a landfill site close to the beach. The rubbish is transported from the site to the coastline by wind and streams originating from the mountain. The volunteers put the waste in piles and had to cover it with heavy stones to prevent it from blowing away.

 

However, it was not possible for the local community to collect this rubbish, despite a rescue attempt with Flateyri's search and rescue team and their boat.

The people in Flateyri have been fighting for many years against having the landfill site in their village, which causes a visual disturbance on the landscape.