(haipo) Shikmona Beach, Hecht Park, Bat Galim, Wadi Lotem Industrial Pioneers and Saadia Stream in Haifa will be part of approximately 50 cleanup centers across the country as part of the Tzlul Association's large beach and stream cleanup operation, which will take place this Friday (October 16, 2026). Thousands of volunteers are expected to participate in the activity, which aims to reduce the hazards of waste on beaches and streams and raise awareness of the damage plastic causes to the marine environment. At Poleg Beach in Netanya, one of the activity centers will be dedicated to the memory of three childhood friends who were murdered on October 7, 2023.
Haifa beaches join the big cleanup operation
On Friday, between 09:00 and 11:00, clean-up operations will take place at approximately 50 locations across the country, including Shikmona Beach, Hecht Park, Bat Galim, Wadi Lotem Industrial Pioneers, and Nahal Saadia in Haifa. Thousands of volunteers, families, groups, and organizations are expected to participate in the nationwide activity.
The activity will include collecting waste from the beaches, cleanup dives in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Eilat, cleaning using kayaks and SUP, and collecting microplastics.
The event is taking place under the slogan "Plastic beach towels", which calls for reducing the use of single-use plastics on beaches and rivers.
About 90% of the waste on beaches is plastic
According to data presented by the Tzalul association, about 90% of the waste on beaches is plastic, mainly disposable products. This waste can drift from the shore into the sea, harm marine animals, and gradually break down into microplastic particles.
Last year's major cleanup collected about 5 tons of waste in one day. The organization emphasizes that beach cleanup is an important step, but is not a substitute for preventive actions, and that legislation and enforcement are needed to reduce the use of single-use plastics.
Not just waste: sewage pollution also threatens beaches
Alongside solid waste, Israel's beaches also deal with sewage and runoff pollution, which could lead to their closure to bathing.
An analysis of Ministry of Health data presented by the association shows that from the beginning of the 2026 bathing season until the end of August, 78 incidents of beach closures were recorded due to infections and abnormal results in routine bacterial tests. The figure refers to incidents measured by days and beaches, and not necessarily 78 different beaches.
The Tzalul Association emphasizes that, alongside the fight against waste, there is a need to prevent infections and improve sewage infrastructure in order to protect public health and the marine environment.
Tzulul calls for legislation against single-use plastics
Mor Gilboa, CEO of the Tzulul Association, said that cleaning the beaches and streams has become a tradition that connects the public, especially the younger generation, to the natural environment and illustrates the importance of preserving it.
Gilboa called on local authorities to promote municipal bylaws to prevent the use of single-use plastics on beaches and rivers, and to increase enforcement in places where arrangements on the subject already exist. He added that significant and binding national legislation is also needed.
The beaches at Poleg Beach will be cleaned in memory of three childhood friends who were murdered on October 7th.
Alongside the environmental activity, a special cleanup activity will be held at Poleg Beach in Netanya in memory of the late Ily Nachman, Matan Eckstein, and Adir Mesika, three childhood friends who were murdered on October 7, 2023, in the Horse Guards, after fleeing the Nova party.
Students from the school where the three attended will participate in the activity, who will come to clean up the beach where they used to hang out. The combination of volunteering and commemoration seeks to preserve their memory in a place that was a part of their lives.
How do you join the cleaning centers?
The activity on the beaches of Haifa and in other locations across the country will take place on Friday, October 16, 2026, between 09:00 and 11:00.
For more details and to register, click here and go toTzlool Association website – The Great Cleanup of Beaches and Streams.
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Maybe they'll include the city of Haifa in the cleanup operation. The area where I live in the center of the Carmel is already dirty as of Friday morning.
🙏🏽 Cleaning the "beaches"/"parks"/"lakes"/"rivers"
And certainly ""The flowing streams of the sea" - Mama - Mia... = extremely important & worth adopting as a regular practice, several times a year, before & after the "bathing season"/"kite"/"sailing" in particular and in general...😭
* I participated in such a blessed activity in the past to preserve the "Kinneret"; I believe that they are still continuing this...!!!
* Educational value for the "adolescent citizen" as an example of the "adult citizen" in the long term...!!!😭