To cope with the serious problem of marine litter, from this year on Sunce is participating in the initiative From river to the sea – let’s be plastic free.
This initiative highlights the necessity of joint action in the fight against marine pollution. Also, it particularly emphasizes the importance of education, which explains that the key source of marine litter arises from coastal activities, i.e. from ourselves.
To educate students about the importance of environmental protection, we organized education in the Elementary School Josip Pupačić. After the education, the students were engaged in the cleaning action of the City Beach in Omiš.
Every diaper from our childhood is still present in the environment
On December 14, 2023, pupils of the elementary school in Omiš, together with their subject teacher Sanja Pešić, have hosted Sunce’s employees. This cooperation resulted in the implementation of educational activities to acquire knowledge on the issue of marine litter, waste pollution as well as consequences for man and the environment.
During these activities, students were actively involved in the learning process. In addition to finding microplastics in a sand sample from a city beach, they also exchanged knowledge about waste. They were introduced to the duration of decomposition of certain objects in the sea, which further expanded their understanding of the impact of human activity on the marine ecosystem. Students were particularly surprised that discarded baby diapers or plastic bottles can take as much as 450 years to fully decompose.
In addition to education, students also did fieldwork. On the beach in Omiš, they were introduced to the ways of monitoring marine litter using the Protocol for the collection and processing of data on marine litter.
The initiative will continue in 2024
– We are pleased to work with students and raise awareness of each individual about the protection of the sea and coast. The initiative continues in 2024, therefore we are working diligently on our next activities – said Tea Kuzmičić Rosandić, project manager at Sunce.
The project leader is Sub-merus. The project partners are the Public Institution for the Protected Areas of Split-Dalmatia County More i Krš, the Association for Nature, Environment, and Sustainable Development Sunce and Impactrip. The project is funded by Beyond Plastic Med (BeMed) micro-initiative.
Successful initiatives in the protection of the marine environment inevitably include the active participation of the local community, thereby laying the foundation for long-term engagement of citizens in the conservation of marine resources. Through such cooperation, visible results are achieved such as reducing the amount of waste in the seas, preserving marine ecosystems, and raising awareness of the importance of preserving the environment. Educational programs and campaigns become key tools in achieving these goals, contributing to increased public awareness of the seriousness of marine pollution problems and encouraging positive changes in behavior towards the marine environment.
This synergistic approach of From river to the sea – let’s be plastic free, which includes collaboration, education, and active citizenship, represents a key component of the sustainable future of our coasts and seas.