A surfer from Dakar, Senegal, turned his frustration with ocean pollution into a nationwide zero-waste movement, pushing restaurants to remove single-use plastics, U.N. Africa Renewal reported.
Babacar Thiaw, owner of the Copacabana Surf Club in Dakar, identified the connection between ocean conservation and his passion for surfing after repeatedly finding plastic waste in the water. The daily reality of floating bottles and wrappers spurred him to make changes.
"I started getting angry. I asked myself, 'Is this the kind of environment I'm condemned to live in for the rest of my life?'" Thiaw recalled.
In 2019, Thiaw banned all single-use plastics from his beachfront restaurant. He collaborated with Zero Waste Senegal to explore more sustainable options, introducing bamboo straws from Bali and metal straws from Germany. His staff switched to glass bottles and purchased foods in bulk to reduce packaging waste.
The change worked fast. Within months, plastic trash at Copacabana Surf Club fell by 35%. Thiaw kept going with bigger plans.
Seeing an opportunity to make a wider impact, he developed a three-level certification program for restaurants. The system helps businesses remove plastic bottles, straws, and single-serve items. Places that finish all three levels earn the title Zero Waste Restaurants.
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This tiered plan makes sustainability more approachable. By 2024, at least 67 restaurants throughout Senegal had joined in, demonstrating how small actions can add up when many people participate.
Thiaw expanded his green work by founding the Surfrider Foundation Senegal in 2020. The group cleans beaches and checks water quality at six popular swimming spots, looking for bacteria that show sewage problems.
It also addressed practical issues by placing 100 trash bins on public beaches, thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Aloha Foundation, and collaborated with city leaders to create regular pickup schedules.
For Thiaw, this work comes from the heart and honors his ancestors, who lived without plastic. His projects link clean oceans with healthy communities and demonstrate that helping nature also benefits people.
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"People started asking questions — 'How did you do this? Why did you do it?' — and I loved having those conversations. It helped them see that it wasn't just about business. It was about community, about legacy," Thiaw said.
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