From May 10 to 12, an army of volunteers is preparing to invade Italian beaches armed with garbage tongs and gloves. This is the 34th edition of Spiagge e Fondali Puliti 2024, the historic campaign organized by Legambiente and its circles, which involves thousands of people in a collective operation to clean the coasts.
“Clean Beaches? You Pinch Us!” is the slogan chosen for this year’s edition, a clear invitation to individual responsibility for the recovery and regeneration of our marine coasts. The campaign, supported by Sammontana and Biotherm, involves numerous events throughout the country, including flashmobs and awareness-raising initiatives.
In Campania, the activities are concentrated on 11 monitored beaches, where over 4.500 types of waste have been collected and catalogued, with an average of 410 types of waste per 100 metres of beach. Among the most common types of waste are cigarette butts, plastic fragments and bottle caps, confirming plastic as the most widespread material on our coasts.
A worrying fact concerns the abundance of single-use plastic, despite the European regulations in force. However, the new Beach Litter survey by Legambiente also introduces a new indicator, the Clean Coast Index (CCI), which provides an immediate and objective assessment of the cleanliness of the beaches. None of the 11 beaches monitored was classified as “dirty” or “very dirty”, a sign that awareness campaigns are starting to yield the first positive results.
Francesca Ferro, regional director of Legambiente, underlines the importance of these initiatives to raise awareness on the problem of marine waste and to promote more responsible behavior towards the environment. The participation of volunteers is crucial to free our coasts from waste and preserve the natural beauty of our seas.
Article published on May 3, 2024 - 11:37 pm
Video Chronicles
