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MARLESS event "Clean Adriatic Sea for future generations" and Eco actions of cleaning the seabed of the Port of Rovinj

Published on 07/06/2022 (last modified 07/06/2022)

Eco action of cleaning the seabed of the Port of Rovinj was held on  Saturday, June 4, 2022 in the Port of Rovinj. It started with the arrival of divers among the citizens and their jump from Mali Mol. The organizers say that with this symbolic gesture they wanted to attract the attention of citizens and tourists in order to draw their attention not only to this eco action, but also to the growing amounts of waste that are a burning problem.

Organized by the Club for Underwater Activities Rovinj, more than 140 participants took part in the eco action. Included are 70 divers in the sea, more than 20 participants for the reception of waste from divers, 3 large ships, 4 small ships, 1 raft for waste collection, employees of the Center for Marine Research Ruđer Bošković led the classification and categorization of waste that collected more out of 20 participants, 30 participants of the Red Cross participated in the cleaning of the coast, and employees of the Rovinj Public Fire Brigade and the Rovinj Port Authority who provided the waterway. The main action took place in the Port of Rovinj where divers collected waste, while at another location, Porton Biondi beach was cleaned by about thirty participants from the Rovinj Red Cross, the scout detachment "Tino Lorenzetto", Rovinj Children's City Council and High School "Zvane Črnja" from Rovinj.

The eco action collected more than 5,500 different items weighing more than one ton, which was then sorted by the Center for Marine Research Rovinj. Most of the plastics were found, followed by glass and metal, but there was no shortage of rubber and textiles. Most of the plastic was plastic bottles, glasses on wrappers, while glass was dominated by glass bottles. You could also find children's toys, plastic tables and tables, building materials, fishing nets and ropes, and even electronics such as cell phones and drones. It should be emphasized that in this action, approximately the same weight was collected as in previous years, but it required twice as many items.

The organization of the rich program called "Clean Adriatic Sea for future generations" that accompanied this eco-action was taken over by IRENA - Istrian Regional Energy Agency. The program was co-financed through the MARLESS project, Interreg Italy-Croatia, and it included numerous activities for children and adults.

Various promotional films, materials from previous cleaning actions and an educational animated film for children were continuously shown on the big screen. The children also enjoyed the eco show of the Birikina association. They enjoyed a fun story about a caring Waste Master and his faithful servant, to whom the perfection of life on Waste Hill is one day ruined by the news of waste separation. As part of the event, an exhibition of children's works by students of the Elementary School Kaštanjer from Pula, Elementary School Dr. Mate Demarin from Medulin, Regional School Banjole and Elementary School Matija Vlačić from Labin was exhibited. In addition to sculptures, posters and many other works of art, students also designed and recorded videos in which they showed how boredom and ignorance with the help and encouragement can change and contribute to reducing marine pollution. There were also stands where several IRENA and CIM projects were presented, where passers-by could get various information on marine litter and other environmental issues, and a Red Cross stand where citizens could measure pressure. At the stands, passers-by could contribute by filling out the MARLESS project survey, which determines the level of knowledge and interest of citizens about marine litter and the support they are willing to show for the introduction of preventive measures against marine litter pollution, and participate in a short quiz project CAPonLITTER . All participants were awarded symbolic prizes.

The FARO Association from Rijeka showed how waste can be used and made into various jewelry. They used a part of the waste taken out of the sea and made very interesting specimens out of it, which at first glance no one would even notice was once waste. At the end of the program, participants had the opportunity to participate in a quiz on marine biodiversity, organized by FARO 11, where participants won special prizes. The program on Marshal Tito Square ended at 13:00, after which the gathered participants continued to socialize in front of the Rovinj Underwater Activities Club.