Unconscious people had turned the bottom of the harbor into an underwater parking lot, who threw in skates, even a moped, a car battery and tires!

The divers were amazed, who participated in the Underwater Cleanup Action, organized by OLTH SA. with the contribution of the Hellenic Marine Environmental Protection Association (HELMEPA), Antipollution, Hellenic Environmental Center SA (HEC) and MEPP as they retrieved various heavy objects, with the contribution of a special crane.

In addition to the vehicles, the divers, whose team included former international basketball player Lazaros Papadopoulos, retrieved bottles, tables and chairs, tires and various other metal objects from the bottom.

The action was attended by 280 students of the Unified High Schools and EPAL of Thessaloniki, who had the opportunity to live an experiential educational experience and to be informed about important issues concerning the protection of the environment and the marine ecosystem. The president and managing director of OLTH S.A. referred to the important role of the students’ presence in his statements. Athanasios Liagos, wishing the next generations to continue the effort to protect the environment.

“For the first time, underwater cleaning is being done at pier 1 with the participation of the public – and especially the students – which makes us happy because we are here to tell the next generations, but also with our next actions, how important the cleaning of our seas is and the protection of the environment”, he emphasized.

The general secretary of THALP, Evangelos Kyriazopoulos, also spoke about the educational nature of their actions, adding, however, that “if we come next year on a day like this, we may produce the same, maybe even more, waste”.

“Unfortunately we don’t understand it, even in the city, in the urban fabric if we are, if we leave a piece of trash, with the rain and the wind it will end up in the sea. It’s not that all of this was thrown into the port, it’s waste that has possibly been thrown kilometers from here and we’re seeing it now with the floods.”

For her part, the press representative of the Hellenic Association for the Protection of the Marine Environment (HELMEPA), Evdokia Gerasimos, explained that the action was aimed at raising awareness among the younger generation. “Let’s not forget,” he continued, “that one out of every two breaths we take comes from the oceans, and we have a responsibility to protect them.”