An event of information and public awareness for the protection of the coast was organized by the Project "Keep our Sand and Sea Plastic Free" in collaboration with the Municipality of Paralimni.
On the occasion of the Mediterranean Coast Day, the project "Keep our Sand and Sea Plastic Free" in collaboration with the Municipality of Paralimni held today a ceremony of placing an information sign on the coastal front of Protaras.
Simultaneously with the ceremony, students of Kokkinochorion High School Panos Ioannou and divers from the Scuba Diving Support Center cleaned the beach and the seabed, wanting to send their own message that we all have a responsibility to keep our natural wealth clean. The sign was placed on the coastal front of Protaras, in front of the beach "Fig Tree" and aims to inform and raise public awareness about the burning issue of plastic pollution of beaches and seas.
The event was addressed by the Mayor of Paralimni Theodoros Pyrillis and the event was attended by representatives of organized groups of the province of Famagusta, related to tourism, as well as representatives of local government. Due to the current situation with the coronavirus, the organizers chose to invite a small number of people to attend the event and took all the necessary protective measures.
Mediterranean Coast Day is celebrated every year on September 25 with the aim of raising environmental awareness for the protection of our coasts among policymakers, academics, the media, NGOs and locals alike. .
The “Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free” campaign is an initiative of the TUI Care Foundation, in collaboration with the Travel Foundation and the Cyprus Association for Sustainable Tourism (CSTI), with the aim of eliminating disposable plastics in coastal areas - starting with Ayia Napa, Protaras and the wider area of the Province of Famagusta - with particular emphasis on the tourism industry.
The project is even more critical at this time given the increasing number of plastics used and ending up in marine ecosystems, as plastics remain in the environment for hundreds of years.
Mr. Filippos Drousiotis, President of the Cyprus Association for Sustainable Tourism said: "Plastic pollution is one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time and tourism can play an important role in solving the problem. Through international efforts such as our Keep Our Sand and Sea Plastic Free Project, tourism companies and destinations are supported to eliminate, innovate, recycle and change the way they use plastics to help achieve circular economy in the use of plastics and the reduction of plastic pollution worldwide ".
Ms. Panagiota Koutsofta, coordinator of the project "Keep our Sand and Sea Plastic Free" said: "Every minute about 33.800 plastic waste ends up in the waters of the Mediterranean and about 80% of the waste collected on the beaches of Cyprus is plastic. As we already know the effects on marine life are tragic, with millions of seabirds and thousands of marine animals dying each year. But the plastic waste that ends up in our seas has not only tragic consequences for marine life, but also for ourselves since through the food chain plastics can even end up on our plate, with hitherto unknown effects on human health".