In the “battle” of cleaning the seas, the fishermen in Crete

Every year more than 200,000 tons of plastics end up in the Mediterranean while the majority of marine pollution comes from lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear. If significant measures are not taken to address poor waste management, which is also the root cause of marine pollution, this amount is expected to double at least by 2040.

In the context of the activities for the collection of plastics and other materials from the sea, fishermen hand in the plastics they collect from the bottom of the sea during their fishing. They are then placed in a special bin located at the port and then taken for recycling in collaboration with certified recycling operators.

Since the start of the action, the fishermen of Heraklion have collected more than 1500 marine plastics and used fishing equipment. The Organization expresses special thanks to the cooperating fishermen of Heraklion Emmanuel Karandinakis, Katerina Kehagiadakis and Antonis Canelos for their participation and commitment to the action.

Enaleia cooperates with certified recycling operators, so that the plastic collected is part of the circular economy

Thanks to Enalia’s circular economy network consisting of certified recycling partners, the marine plastic collected is managed and most of it integrated into the circular economy. In particular, the marine plastic collected is certified by Keep Sea Blue through the certification program and the online Blockchain platform, which ensures full transparency and traceability of the material. Nylon 6 nets are used by Healthy Seas and its partners to create sustainable products, such as socks and swimwear.

PET plastic (eg plastic bottles) is used by the Ecoalf Foundation to transform into sustainable fashion products, such as jackets and shoes. A portion of the collected mixed plastic and collected fishing gear is used by The Gravity Wave to make sustainable products such as furniture. In collaboration with Skyplast, Enaleia has managed to recycle over 60% of the collected marine plastic into plastic pellets. With this raw material, almost any kind of sustainable product can be produced.

THE Analeia is a social, non-profit organization with a vision to make the marine ecosystem sustainable through circular economy solutions. It started as the first sustainable fishing school in Greece and is now active in research, education and marine plastic cleanups, from the “Mediterranean CleanUp” in the Mediterranean Sea to the “Bahari Safi” in the Indian Ocean.

It now works with more than 1,500 fishermen and operates in 36 locations in Greece as well as 4 locations in Italy.

Results of Mediterranean Clean Up Action

Since the launch of the “Mediterranean CleanUp” (2018) Mediterranean fishermen have collected more than 435,000 Kg marine plastic. It is worth noting that almost half of the amount of marine plastic was collected within the last year.

“Mediterranean CleanUp” is under the auspices of the Ministry of Shipping and Island Policy and the Ministry of Environment & Energy. Enaleia has also signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

With “Mediterranean CleanUp”, the Co-Founder and Director of Enaleia, Lefteris Arapakishas been awarded the honorary title of “Ambassador for the Mediterranean Coast” for 2021-22 and has been named a “Young Champion of the Earth” for 2020 by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

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