Plastic Free Pioneer: Paros
It has been said that within the next decade there will be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish. This would be a tragedy. With one of the longest coastlines in the world, at 8,500 miles, Greece’s relationship with the water is closer than many. Six thousand Greek islands are littered across the Mediterranean ocean where 95% of waste is plastic. Zoom in on the the Aegean where estimates are closer to 70%, still far from brag worthy. So it seems fitting that it is here is where one island is pioneering turning the tide on plastic. Paros is striving to be the first plastic free island in the world guided by the Clear Blue organisation.
Of course, to tackle an ocean plastic problem your attention must first be on the land. With a local population of 13,000, the task of making Paros plastic free might seem like a challenge although not an enormous one. Factor in the 400,000 tourists who descend on the island each summer to temporarily call it home and I present you a challenge. The lure of Paros as a holiday destination is not shocking. Pocket sized and authentic, you will struggle to find the glitz of Mykonos but neither the overpriced calamari. Surrounded by sea the same azure blue as Santorini’s’ caldera but without a cruise ship blocking your view. Paros is the island favoured by those in the know. So, with tourism accountable for 20% of the islands GDP, the responsibility falls on not just those who call the island home but also those who come to stay.
Big Greek Picture
If only removing plastic was as simple as banning it. Investigating the life of plastic on the island meant to understand the source, the hot spots and where it all ended up. They called this the plastic drawdown. This entailed tracking the various starting points of the problem; fishing nets, domestic waste and tourist tat, from the point at which they became waste through sewers, landfill or incineration and even exported. So, with a comprehensive understanding of where and why most plastics were coming from and going initiatives could be created to resolve. This focused on the menial to the legislative, children were given refillable water bottles at school and residents lobbied for better storage and management of waste infrastructure. Business were incentivised and encouraged to join the scheme and offered support across the board – replacement of wretched plastic straws and piloting new take away systems. Proof is in the pudding, 40 business signed up without being asked twice.
Naturally, there are other Greeks striving to tackle the issue of plastic away from the land o the water. Fishermen are being recruited to collect rubbish from the ocean in a bid to not only clear the waters but revive the dying fishing industry. In 2019 the average age of a Greek fisherman was 64, so as sustainability develops tenfold, it hardly even poked the Greek fishing industry. Enaleia is a school hoping to change that, offering not just an education on the fishing industry to the next generation but an education on making the industry friendlier on the environment for the older one. Incentivised with €200 a month to take part, captains are agreeing to clear plastic from the ocean, collecting it from their hauls to return to land and be recycled rather than just being lobbed back in. This year, they hope 100 vessels will have signed up, clearing over 10 tonnes of plastic a month.
Big Tourist Picture
With so much focus on the big issue it can be easy to forget the little things. Increasingly but wonderfully, it can be patronising to remind ourselves of them. Travel with a refillable water bottle and trust when someone says the tap water is safe to drink, it is safe to drink. Choose your sun cream carefully; free of microbeads and ideally in recyclable packaging. Carry a tote for your purchases at the supermarket and strive wherever possible to purchase local souvenirs, free of travel miles and a protective film of plastic.
The joy of starting with the plastic problem is it prods people to consider the bigger picture. Parīlio Hotel is the latest luxury place to stay on the island. It is lovingly Greek; white, coastal and clad in bursts of flower and greenery. Designed by a team in Athens it is Greek from its foundations up. Feeding guests produce of Paros from breakfast through supper, fuel to visit the local farm where it was produced or venture out with a local fisherman and catch lunch. Come midday, choose from a carefully curated Greek wine list (you are on holiday, aren’t you?); support local producers, keep your travel pennies in Greece and shave off excessive and unnecessary travel miles for a Pinot Blush. So, a hotel fulfils an obligation to reward its surroundings and not just its guests. Tentative steps to play its part in a much bigger picture. Suddenly and subtly going on holiday is something you can be prouder of.
With a holistic approach aiming to investigate, intervene and influence Clean Blue Paros intends to set a bar high for other destinations to follow. So, with the Greeks working tirelessly to improve, tourists must not simply standby but poignantly take part.
To pioneer is a responsibility and mistakes will be made that others need not waste time repeating. It is also to challenge, to not just inspire but also enable others to do better. If the desire to improve is there but without the needed infrastructure, everyone meets a dead end. If everyone who lives in situ is trying their utmost but the tourists who outnumber them seasonally are not, it will only end in stalemate. The very nature of tourists being fleeting visitors to a destination means we are liable to rock the boat, privy to bring our bad habits ashore and capable of leaving having learnt nothing quantifiably local at all. If an island can intervene and influence without making us think too much about it, all the better. However, should an increasingly aware responsible tourist engage, suddenly larger change might be afoot.
