wish local stakeholders to voluntary accept the switch to a new environment-friendly
business model without SUP items.
To sum up, the protocol will provide a guideline for local business to eliminate
SUP items by presenting the alternatives available at country level and proposing
supporting tools for the implementation of these alternatives, in cooperation with
relevant public authorities and business service providers. The MEDfreeSUP project
will additionally tackle behavioural change in consumers (tourists and local residents) by setting an online awareness platform following a gamification approach. It
will engage consumers in being proactive in their choice of consumption with a
rewarding skim to stimulate the consumers’ behavioural change and adoption of
these solutions. The protocol and online platform will be implemented and tested in
voluntary pilot cities and islands to prove their effectiveness and viability and ensure
their replicability in other European regions.
9.5 Conclusions
The present chapter refers to the issue of plastic marine litter in the wider Mediterranean region and especially in Greece. Plastics account for 95% of the waste in the
open sea, on the seabed and beaches across the Mediterranean, placing a burden on
the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the area. In January 2018,
the European Commission launched the “EU Plastic Strategy” to reduce single-use
plastic pollution followed by the EU Directive on the “Reduction of the Impact of
Certain Plastic Products on the Environment”. In Greece, waste management
remains one of the most pertinent environmental problems. More than 80% of the
generated waste are landfilled, while recycling accounts to 20%. Inconsistencies
were noted in the data regarding plastic waste generation and management between
official authorities depicting the importance of further research into this.
To mitigate the impacts of plastic litters in the Mediterranean, EIT Climate-KIC
funded two projects, BL.EU. Climate (implementation period: 2019) and
MEDfreeSUP (implementation period: 2020–2021), on creating knowledge and
supporting the plastic reduction in the Mediterranean seas. The BL.EU. Climate
project addressed the challenge of plastic marine littering in southern European
waters by building capacity in three Mediterranean countries: Greece, Portugal and
Croatia. The MEDfreeSUP project, which is the continuation of the BL.EU. Climate
project, aims to set a replicable voluntary protocol for free single-use plastics food
packaging adoption for the private commercial sector and for public places in three
Mediterranean countries: Greece, Italy and Croatia to provide support and guidance
to local business in complying with EU Directives.
According to BL.EU. Climate results, one of the greatest barriers in Greece is the
knowledge gap across stakeholders. Most of the respondents understand that the
natural environment is at crisis and this is caused mainly by anthropogenic factors.
However, the most affected by marine litter actors (e.g. fishermen and tourists) seem
to lack a basic understanding of the marine plastic pollution and its detrimental
9 Tackling Single-Use-Plastic Products in the Easter Mediterranean Sea: The. . .
147
business model without SUP items.
To sum up, the protocol will provide a guideline for local business to eliminate
SUP items by presenting the alternatives available at country level and proposing
supporting tools for the implementation of these alternatives, in cooperation with
relevant public authorities and business service providers. The MEDfreeSUP project
will additionally tackle behavioural change in consumers (tourists and local residents) by setting an online awareness platform following a gamification approach. It
will engage consumers in being proactive in their choice of consumption with a
rewarding skim to stimulate the consumers’ behavioural change and adoption of
these solutions. The protocol and online platform will be implemented and tested in
voluntary pilot cities and islands to prove their effectiveness and viability and ensure
their replicability in other European regions.
9.5 Conclusions
The present chapter refers to the issue of plastic marine litter in the wider Mediterranean region and especially in Greece. Plastics account for 95% of the waste in the
open sea, on the seabed and beaches across the Mediterranean, placing a burden on
the environmental, social and economic sustainability of the area. In January 2018,
the European Commission launched the “EU Plastic Strategy” to reduce single-use
plastic pollution followed by the EU Directive on the “Reduction of the Impact of
Certain Plastic Products on the Environment”. In Greece, waste management
remains one of the most pertinent environmental problems. More than 80% of the
generated waste are landfilled, while recycling accounts to 20%. Inconsistencies
were noted in the data regarding plastic waste generation and management between
official authorities depicting the importance of further research into this.
To mitigate the impacts of plastic litters in the Mediterranean, EIT Climate-KIC
funded two projects, BL.EU. Climate (implementation period: 2019) and
MEDfreeSUP (implementation period: 2020–2021), on creating knowledge and
supporting the plastic reduction in the Mediterranean seas. The BL.EU. Climate
project addressed the challenge of plastic marine littering in southern European
waters by building capacity in three Mediterranean countries: Greece, Portugal and
Croatia. The MEDfreeSUP project, which is the continuation of the BL.EU. Climate
project, aims to set a replicable voluntary protocol for free single-use plastics food
packaging adoption for the private commercial sector and for public places in three
Mediterranean countries: Greece, Italy and Croatia to provide support and guidance
to local business in complying with EU Directives.
According to BL.EU. Climate results, one of the greatest barriers in Greece is the
knowledge gap across stakeholders. Most of the respondents understand that the
natural environment is at crisis and this is caused mainly by anthropogenic factors.
However, the most affected by marine litter actors (e.g. fishermen and tourists) seem
to lack a basic understanding of the marine plastic pollution and its detrimental
9 Tackling Single-Use-Plastic Products in the Easter Mediterranean Sea: The. . .
147