The project “Waste ashore! Students together with tourism and leisure professionals get informed and take action about marine litter in Mylopotamos’ shores” was successfully completed.

Marine litter is a serious problem internationally, in our country and on the coasts of Crete. The project “Waste ashore! Students together with tourism and leisure professionals get informed and take action about marine litter in Mylopotamos’ shores” implemented by our company in collaboration with the Mediterranean Information Office for Environment, Culture and Sustainable Development, did unite educators, students, tourism and leisure professionals, local population and local government bodies of the coastal areas of the Municipality of Mylopotamos in a joint action to substantially reduce plastics and especially single-use plastics.

At the final event of the project, held on Friday, December 10^th, 2021 at Panormo, MIO-ECSDE project team presented the results of the actions implemented during the project with the participation of the educational community and local businesses. In the discussion that followed it was evident both the awareness of the problem by the local population and the willingness of everyone to actively deal with it.

Participants underlined that there are still many issues that need to be solved or improved in order to successfully having cleaner seas and coasts, but it is a fact that the project “Waste ashore!” penetrated in the local community, because it concerned its daily life. Attendees noted that the project, very aptly, was focusing on raising awareness of the student community, because young children are the future of the area and have also the power to influence their families. The approach of the tourist community through the pilot action of environmentally responsible tourism businesses received a lot of positive comments as tourism is the main source of income for many residents of the area.

The coordinator of the project, professor M. Skoullos emphasized that although the project by its nature could not solve all the pollution problems of the region, it created a vision that was supported by a lot of educators, students and professionals who collaborated, and he hopes that more members will join the team. Also, one of the participating teachers aptly noted, “contrary to the case of the pandemic, where we are asked to reduce the transmission index R, in the case of environmental protection we need to increase the positivity index and each of us transmit to as many as possible the message of reducing the single-use plastics”.

For more information visit the project website here.