Stephan, Claudia and Julia were on holiday on the Greek peninsula of Sithonia this summer. From a distance, the scenery was breathtaking – a lush green paradise flanked by crystal blue waters. But the isles face the same problem coastlines globally struggle with – an unmanageable influx of waste.
When sharing his story with us, Stephan said that the human impact was clear and troubling.
“The people there put all their purchases in small plastic bags, and you will encounter these bags all over again. There is so much other waste like cardboard, tire, metal, beercans etc.,” he said. “When talking to the people about it, you realize that they are not sensitive to it and interpret it as if it was always like this. They are accustomed to it.”
He continues to describe his experience and how he decided to take action, rather than just accept the waste as reality.
“Our house-beach where we swam every day was in Vourvourou. It is a small, sheltered bay with lots of sand and shallow ground. The garbage flooded from the other side of the bay directly into the beach and was caught there. In the water were many small plastic parts, like ice cream or chip packs and other foods. This waste often comes from the people who are traveling there by boat. Again and again we have found trash on the beach, which came from everywhere. When we were snorkeling with our diving masks, we noticed that there is also a lot of waste on the seabed.
On the third day, we had the idea to collect the garbage together on the beach and by diving in the sea. We used our air-matress as a stationary garbage collector and we dived around in the bay for one hour. We even found a cartire. The landlord from whom we rented our apartment, was excited about our clean-up. This is typically Swiss, he said.
We want to show the world that there is a lot of waste in many places and near the sea, and it does not belong there. We will not be able to clean up Greece completely, but we want to show the world how little it takes to make it cleaner and we like to encourage everybody to do the same everywehere. We could not collect much trash, but a little is also a lot for the world.
So when you see garbage in the sea, take a bag and take it away. All childrens of this world will be thanksful that they can still swim in 100 years and of course also the fishes!
The future says “Thank you!”
No matter how big or small your contribution, every small action taken makes a difference. It’s only through heroes like Stephan, Claudia and Julia that we can realize a reality of a waste-free world.
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