After two years of implementing the “Adopt a Beach” program in Greece, WWF’s national offices in Greece, Turkey and Tunisia are joining forces, with the aim of developing a pan-Mediterranean platform to monitor coastal pollution.

The common goal: The collection for the first time of quantitative and qualitative data on coastal plastic pollution in a part of the Mediterranean, with the ultimate goal of combating it.

The program started in Greece in May 2021, while its expansion to the Mediterranean region is achieved with the support of the Fondation Audemars-Watkins through the WWF International. With an emphasis on these three focus countries on the three continents surrounding the Mediterranean (Turkey, Tunisia and Greece), this extension aims to develop a pan-Mediterranean platform for monitoring coastal pollution in this region.

But why is it so important to collect data on the Mediterranean? According to WWF, the Mediterranean is home to 150 million people and welcomes more than 400 million tourists every year. As evidenced by the pollution levels of its shores, however, the Mediterranean Sea is an area particularly burdened by plastic pollution. In fact, according to an earlier WWF report, it is estimated that every year 570,000 tons of plastic end up in the waters of the Mediterranean (that is, it is like throwing 33,800 plastic bottles into the sea every minute).

According to the Organization: Under these conditions, there is an immediate need to systematically record coastal plastic pollution, in order to make clear the magnitude of the problem, but also to take appropriate measures to deal with it.

The first nationwide platform for recording coastal pollution and the top 5 most common types of waste

So far in Greece, 135 volunteer groups (schools, scouting systems, collectives, etc.) have “adopted” a total of 149 beaches throughout the country, recording more than 185,800 litters. According to the official data, just 5 types of litter make up more than 50% of the total finds recorded on the beaches since the beginning of the program. These are:

• cigarette butts with a rate of 23.9%

• the small pieces of plastic from 2.5 to 50 cm (not styrofoam) with a percentage of 10%,

• straws follow with a percentage of 7.1%, climbing to 3rd place from 4th place in 2021, although in theory they have been banned from being placed on the market from July 2021;

• the plastic lids of drinks-water with a rate of 6.7%, and

• the small pieces of styrofoam (2.5-50cm) with a rate of 4.6%.

“Through the program and with the decisive contribution of the volunteer groups, we have managed to create the first integrated nationwide coastal pollution recording platform, which already gives us access to valuable data. This fact is extremely important, as the collection of data is one of the most important conditions for understanding and dealing with the problem. The goal now is to collect data on the general situation in the Mediterranean and to contribute to making the reduction of plastic pollution a priority in this region,” said Konstantinos Tsoukalas, head of the “Adopt a Beach” program.

The “Adopt a Beach” program continues in Greece and anyone who wishes to participate can study the program’s instructions and then send an e-mail to: [email protected].

It is noted that the program is implemented with the support of the Hellenic Marine Research Center and the process of recording marine litter is carried out based on the commonly accepted protocol of the European Group for the monitoring of coastal litter pollution. A strategic partner of the program is the Hellenic Scout Corps, with dozens of scouting systems participating in the program throughout Greece.