The Mediterranean Cleanup is an action of Enaleia, with the vision to make the Mediterranean plastic-free

THE CHALLENGE

The plastic pollution in the Mediterranean region is expected to continue to increase rapidly in the coming years, while the production of plastic waste in the same area is estimated to quadruplicate by 2050 (WWF-Greece, 2019). The result of which is that by 2050 there will be more plastic in the seas than fish (Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

THE CHALLENGE IN NUMBER

570.000

tons of plastic end up in the Mediterranean waters every year
– WWF Greece 2019

33.800

plastic bottles per minute respectively

Need of cleaner seas

20-30%

of global marine plastic pollution consists of ghost nets
– Ellen MaccArthur Foundation.

8.000.000

tons of plastic are leaking into the ocean, equivalent of discharging an entire garbage truck into the ocean every minute
– Ellen MaccArthur Foundation.

Based on Data from the
Ellen MacArthur Foundation

2014

2050

QUANTITY OF PRODUCED PLASTICS

311 000 kg

1,124 MT

PLASTIC TO FISH RATIO IN THE OCEAN (PER WEIGHT)

1:5
1:1

PERCENTAGE OF OIL CONSUMPTION FOR PLASTIC PRODUCTION

6%
20%

PERCENTAGE OF CARBON COMING FROM PLASTICS

1%
15%

A SOLUTION FOR CLEANER SEAS

The plastics that are lying at the bottom of the sea are not going to cleanup themselves. To solve this issue we have to do two things: stop the plastics from leaking into the sea meanwhile clean the existing plastic already there

PILOT PROJECT

On a mission implemented for the first time in Greece, Enaleia in collaboration with 10 fishing boats cleaned the bottom of the sea from plastic in the most efficient way (cost - time - quantities) that has ever been applied in Greece

PREVENTION

At the same time, within the framework of prevention, professional fishermen in 21 ports around Greece and Italy hand us over their nets to prevent them from ending up in the sea or landfills and instead are utilized to create products by recycling or upcycling.

THE EXPANSION

As for today, we collaborate with 229 fishing vessels both in Greece and Italy, cleaning thousands kilos of plastic from the sea every week! Next, all this plastic enters the circular economy, either through recycling or upcycling.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

We contribute to the circular economy, while doing both the cleaning and the management of this marine litter. Specifically, we send the plastic bottles to a fashion company in Madrid which turns them into clothes while the nets we clean from the sea are sent to the environmental organization Healthy Seas, which turns these nets into useful products such as swim wear and socks. This reduces the amount of plastic and CO2 emissions produced to create new products and thus the power of message we want to convey is multiplied.

OUR PRODUCTS

In collaboration with Healthy Seas, we created co-branded socks with the ghost nets we clean from the sea. The Mediterranean Cleanup with the support of the public guarantees the cleaning of one kilo of plastics more than what is already achieved, with each pair of socks sold.

OUR MISSION IN NUMBERS

Fishing Season
October 2018 - May 2019

10

fishing vessels

cleaned marine litter from Piraeus and Lavrio

16.000kg

marine litter

were cleaned from the bottom of the sea

5.000kg

fishing nets

συλλέχθηκαν και ανακυκλώθηκαν ώστε να μην καταλήξουν στην θάλασσα ή στους ΧΥΤΑ

Fishing Season
October 2019 - May 2020

40

fishing vessels

Cleaned marine litter from Piraeus, Lavrio, Chalkida, Kymi και Patra

42.900kg

marine litter

were cleaned from the bottom of the sea

10.000kg

fishing nets

συλλέχθηκαν και ανακυκλώθηκαν ώστε να μην καταλήξουν στην θάλασσα ή στους ΧΥΤΑ

Fishing Season
October 2020 - May 2021

229

fishing vessels

are cleaning marine litter from 21 ports in Greece and Italy

14.000kg

marine litter

are cleaned from the sea on average every month

More than

20.000kg

fishing nets

αναμένεται να συλλεχθούν στα πλαίσια της πρόληψης ώστε να μην καταλήξουν στην θάλασσα ή στους ΧΥΤΑ

OUR TEAM

LEFTERI ARAPAKIS

Co-Founder & Director

NIKOS THERAPOS

Policy & Finance

Kabardi

ZETA KABARDI

Project Manager

Giannakopoulos

KONSTANTINOS GIANNAKOPOULOS

Operations Manager

Papadopoulou

EVI PAPADOPOULOU

Accounting & Finance

Tzouba

DANAI TZOUBA

Digital Marketing Intern

GEORGE ANTONIOU

Nea Michaniona Port Manager

CHRISTOS SARAFOGLOU

Keratsini Port Manager

MICHALIS CHRISTOU

Kimi Port Manager

PANAGIOTIS FLAMPOURAS

Kyllini Port Manager

MARIALENA KRYONOPOULOU

Agios Nikolaos, Crete Port Manager

Partners

Circular Economy Partners

Donors and Sponsors

NEWSLETTER

    CONTACT US

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    Contact Us

      The Mediterranean Cleanup is Enaleia’s project,which aims at a sustainable marine ecosystem, through environmental education, prevention, sea cleanups and making the most out of marine litter.

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      Address

      46 Kefalinias Street, Athens, Greece

      Email

      info@enaleia.com

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