GGGI Small Grant (2021) - Enaleia (Italy)
Project Summary
Mediterranean Cleanup (Greece)
Through training of fishers on the negative impacts of ALDFG and appropriate removal practices, Enaleia has executed a wide-scale cleanup of the Mediterranean maritime ecosystem, utilizing a network of fishers and proper management of collected waste, including ALDFG. Enaleia works with fishing communities in the Mediterranean, mobilizing them on sustainable fishing practices and incentivizing them to bring their plastic bycatches back to port, collecting the equivalent of more than two truckloads of plastic daily. End-of-Life plastic fishing nets are collected by the Port Coordinators and are placed in storage for the relevant equipment to be upcycled. Mediterranean Cleanup is working with more than 3,000 Greek, Spanish, Egyptian and Italian fishers and collected more than 1,000,000 Kg of marine plastic and ALDFG, 58% of which has been integrated into the circular economy.
With the support of GGGI, Enaleia was able to establish this project in the region of Emilia-Romagna, activating more than 600 fishers to collect 25,000 kgs of ALDFG for the first time in Italy, and facilitating the upcycling and recycling of more than 90% of the collected material. The project has been up and running since the initial small grant support in 2021, and is now replicating in more areas of Italy.
Additionally, Enaleia’s Mediterranean Cleanup project has expanded over the last year to Spain and Egypt, envisioning a Mediterranean Sea without ALDFG, where fishing communities are part of the solution.
