The diving club Roniti se mora, together with their project partners MARES, C.I.O.S. group, Fund for environmental protection and energy efficiency and National Geographic Croatia, have completed their 22nd clean up event, Think Green, on the island of Vis, Croatia.
This year, for the first time, a new concept was introduced to the sea bed clean up – the complete disposal of the waste gathered from the sea bed. In collaboration with the C.I.O.S. group which offered it’s full logistical support, all the material gathered was transported off the island, separated and properly disposed of. This way, the local community did not have to worry about the disposal of the gathered waste.
The event lasted for 3 days and covered the areas of the ferry port, the waterfront and Stonac Bay. 15 tons, or more than 30m3, of waste was removed from the sea bed. The biggest pieces were a metal ship superstructure, sewage pipes, debris, bicycles, large batteries, construction material, plastic and truck tyres. More than a 1,000 bags were used for the collection and disposal of smaller pieces. Even some discarded military equipment was found, including a short Italian rifle, munitions and knives. This equipment was handed over to “Mvsevm” for desalination.
More than 60 divers participated in the event, and overall they spent over 600 hours under water. Other than the waste found underwater, 6 tons of tires and household appliances and 1,000 liters of waste oil were collected from the island and disposed of.
All the efforts of the volunteers wouldn’t have been so successful without the support of the local community, the City of Vis and its various associations. A special thanks goes to the UK Embassy in Croatia which has made it its tradition to support Think Green.
The divers that participated in the event are members of diving clubs Roniti se mora from Zagreb, UPA Rostrum from Split and Roniti se mora from Šibenik.
The event was held in association with MARES, C.I.O.S. group, Fund for environmental protection and energy efficiency, National Geographic Croatia, the UK Embassy Zagreb, the City of Vis, Jamnica, TZ Vis, Garmin, Brewery Medvedgrad, Klara, Sixt, Geopark Archipelago of Vis, Hotel Issa, DC Nautica Vis, Gradina Vis, Hvidra Vis, Scubalife magazine and Morski.hr.
For the past 10 years the diving club Roniti se mora has been organizing Think Green clean up events where not only sea beds, rivers and lakes across Croatia are cleaned, but also knowledge is shared and awareness is raised with the public about the problems that come with environmental pollution.
Be a hero, Think Green!
Damir Zurub – Mares Ambassador
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