“Because fishermen can do this, politicians have no excuse,” says Lefteris Arapakis, founder of Enaleia (a non-governmental organization that collects plastic from the sea), Mediterranean coast ambassador from the United Nations Environment Program.

We are in front of his father’s fishing boat, which is anchored in Keratsini, where it all began in 2017. Neighboring fishermen call him by name, “we have known him for so long”, they say and point with their hand not a meter from the ground. A little further – two or three gentlemen in shirts and jackets, obviously out of business. These are the representatives of the United Nations who were in Greece last Friday to present the Enalia campaign, which a few days ago also started cooperation with the fishermen of Egypt. They chose this action as a celebratory event ahead of Environment Day on June 5, a symbolic move that shows their confidence in what has been done. And there are many: from 2018 to the present day, he has collected 500,000 kg of plastic from the sea in collaboration with 1,200 fishermen across Greece, who fish in 43 ports across the country. About 800 other fishermen from Italy and the rest of the Mediterranean also “catch” the plastic and deliver it to Enalia’s representatives located in 28 ports for recycling.

At the end of a description – during the event – of what the fishermen have done over the years, Lefteris referred to the politicians’ commitment to take it one step further. Lefteris Arapakis, the son of a fisherman, found himself early among the people of profession and fish. As an ASOE student, he worked on a fish ladder in the evenings and built boats in Perama in the summer. “Great job,” he says with a wry smile, “but at least we had a beer afterwards.”

There were fewer and fewer fish in the nets, but often they were full of plastic, which the fishermen threw back into the sea as unnecessary. Thus, the idea was born to collect this plastic and deliver it to the representatives of Enalia, who are waiting for them at the port. “The amounts everyone brings in are weighed and then they get paid for the amount of plastic they bring in. There is not much money, but it stimulates competition,” says Lefteris Arapakis.

Pioneers

It was difficult in the beginning, he admits. “Those who removed the plastic were few, and they were shown by the rest. Today, the opposite is happening, the one who does not get rid of plastic is strange, ”he says. How did he manage to convince them? Use some as pioneers. Nikolaos Mentis has been fishing in Saronic for decades. He always removed plastic from the sea: “When we see a bag in the sea, we have to pick it up. If we don’t pick it up, the screw will pick it up and we will stay at sea,” he says. However, for several years he has been actively hunting for plastic. Lukas Rallis, a friend of Father Lefteris, has also been fishing in Saronic for over 25 years. But catching plastic is his mission, protecting the environment and, above all, his job. According to him, there have been more dolphins in recent years, because the sea has become cleaner. “Of course they eat fish,” he laughs, but they are fine. When he was little, he was shipwrecked and spent 48 hours on a log in the middle of the sea. “The dolphins protected me by circling around the raft,” he says.

The organization also began cooperation with the fishermen of Egypt a few days ago.

With Luke’s boat, we ended up in the middle of the ocean a little later to watch divers collect nets from the bottom of the sea. The fishermen hand over the nets they can no longer use to Inalee. However, many nets are thrown into the sea, resulting in great disasters. The collection process is complex, but the benefits are great as the nets remain at sea for decades.

The plastic collected at sea is transported by Enalia to Keep Sea Blue located in Megara. Lefteris Bastakis explains that the plastic, which has been in the sea for a long time, has deteriorated. For example, if we recycle water bottles, we get a material that can be used to create new food containers. Plastics from the sea cannot provide good quality “new” plastic.

In the bins

Since 70% of the plastic that ends up in the sea comes from land, it is important to dispose of our plastic in the recyclable packaging bins, the well-known blue bins. “If we throw a bottle of water, for example, into the street, then it is extremely unprofitable for someone to pick it up, so it will most likely remain there. Therefore, the main thing is to use garbage cans,” he notes.

“But remember that we are throwing away packaging materials, not something plastic like toys or something bulky.” He clarifies that it is not necessary to wash everything that we throw in the trash can, because these materials are washed at the factory. He also adds: “Don’t throw ashes from fireplaces into trash cans. It is for this reason that fires often occur in processing plants.”