Paros goes plastic free

Supported By: Greece

The cosmopolitan island of Paros in the Cyclades is starting to make waves for the fact that the island is almost entirely plastic-free.

Each summer travellers are drawn to Paros for its wild herb-scented hills, labyrinthine villages, and wind-sculpted beaches, but with luggage-laden travellers, also comes increased rubbish. The complexity of Paros’ waste challenges is what drove it to make drastic changes and set a new standard for islands around the world.

It is currently first in the race to become the first single-use plastic, waste-free island in the Med, through its pioneering initiative Clean Blue Paros with Common Seas.

A super social enterprise tackling the plastic pollution crisis in the world’s waters, Common Seas encourages locals and visitors to drink tap water, use reusable products, take their waste with them, and most importantly support the 100+ hero businesses on Paros, that have signed up to be part of the plastic waste-free programme.

And there’s more, Paros and Common Seas have a rather unique approach to cleaning up beaches…inviting residents and volunteers to become “beach Godparents” and like a true godparent – care for a beach which is close to their heart. The Godparents lead Marine Litter Audits, collecting, recording and separating the waste, before sending their findings for analysis to further understand the situation, and ultimately shape new systems to make Paros completely plastic free. Now that’s a useful Godparent.

Visit Website: https://www.visitgreece.gr/islands/cyclades/paros/