Every day, a dedicated team of marine sanitation workers takes to the waters of Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, clearing floating debris and keeping the city's coastline clean. Since taking over marine waste management in 2016, Xiamen's municipal marine sanitation station has expanded its cleaning coverage from 62 to 230 square kilometers.

Their hard work is making a visible difference. In 2025, the team collected 3,073 tonnes of floating marine waste while maintaining regular cleaning operations across the 230-square-kilometer area. The density of floating debris in Xiamen's coastal waters dropped by 22.59% year on year, while the proportion of coastal waters rated as good quality reached 93.8%.

The improvements have continued. In the first half of 2026, the team collected another 1,232.88 tonnes of marine debris, and the proportion of coastal waters with good water quality climbed to 96.6%.