From May to early October 2024, Impact Hub Athens and WWF Hellas teamed up for a highly impactful anti-litter campaign, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers across multiple beach clean-ups as part of the #20TonnesChallenge of the REMEDIES project and WWF Greece’s “Adopt a Beach” initiative. This campaign tackled marine pollution by engaging local communities and removing significant amounts of plastic and other waste from beaches across Greece. The campaign was designed to meet the objectives of the REMEDIES Anti-Litter Campaigns, which aim to raise awareness, inspire action, and promote technological innovations for sustainable solutions to marine litter.
Throughout the campaign, more than 177 volunteers of the Adopt a Beach program participated in clean-up events across key locations, including Ftelia Beach (Mykonos), Loutsa Beach (Preveza), Kalami Beach (Poros), Kavros Beach (Crete), Lygia Beach (Rinia Island), Agios Kosmas Beach (Athens), Potamos Epanomis (Thessaloniki), Tam Toom Beach (Patra), Aktaio (Patra), Kordia (Kalamata), and Ichthioskala (Chios). These collective efforts resulted in the removal of over 322 kg of plastic litter and 235 kg of other waste, showcasing the power of community involvement in environmental protection.
Under the umbrella of the anti-litter campaign, the REMEDIES consortium organized the Plastic Fantastic Webinar, held on June 26, 2024, which attracted over 30 participants, primarily volunteers from the Adopt a Beach program and environmental activists. Organized in collaboration with Impact Hub Athens, University of Maribor, Marine Conservation Greece, All for Blue, and Venice Lagoon Plastic Free, the webinar focused on plastic identification, waste management innovations, and the role of citizen science. It served as a platform for the Cyclades Demo Site leader to present the technologies and innovations developed for plastic litter prevention and monitoring at the demo site. The success of this webinar prompted plans for similar webinars across France, Italy, Albania, and Slovenia as part of REMEDIES’ ongoing outreach efforts.
This first campaign, a collaboration between IHA and WWF Greece, reached over 1,000 individuals, resulting in 14 beach clean-ups. This joint initiative successfully demonstrated the technological innovations being used and promoted across demo sites, further solidifying the campaign’s goals of increasing community engagement and driving sustainable solutions.
As the campaign concluded in early October 2024, preparations are already underway for upcoming anti-litter campaigns in France, Italy, Morocco, and Slovenia with the collaboration of local key stakeholders. These campaigns will continue to leverage community involvement and technological innovations to make a lasting impact on marine litter prevention. The Plastic Fantastic Webinar series will also be expanded to these regions, helping to engage a broader audience and deepen the conversation on sustainable waste management practices.
About REMEDIES and Impact Hub Athens
The REMEDIES project addresses the challenges of plastic litter in the Mediterranean through innovative solutions for monitoring, collection, valorization, and prevention. Over the past year, it has implemented 12 innovations across 8 key Mediterranean sites, expanded its reach to 33 locations, and launched two open calls for Associate Regions, offering €500K in support to further scale these solutions. Impact Hub Athens plays a critical role as the Communication and Dissemination partner, organizing among others the PLASTIC FANTASTIC Hackathon, workshops, seminars, anti-litter campaigns, and art residencies. Through its efforts, the project aims to raise awareness, engage communities, and foster active participation in combating plastic pollution. By engaging 2,000 citizens in 115 beach clean-ups, collecting over 20 tons of plastic, and reaching a broader audience through social media and events, Impact Hub Athens ensures that REMEDIES’ innovative solutions gain visibility and mobilize diverse stakeholders toward a plastic-free future
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