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The historic Legambiente campaign dedicated to the monitoring and cleaning of waste abandoned on beaches and shores returns from 10 to 12 May

Initiatives scheduled in the two pilot areas of Life Muscles until June

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From 10 to 12 May a "tide" of volunteers will invade our beaches equipped with waste collection tongs and gloves, to participate throughout Italy in the dozens of initiatives of Spiagge e Fondali Puliti 2024, the historic campaign organized by Legambiente and the its clubs which for 34 years has involved thousands of people in a collective mobilization to clean beaches and shores.

Particular attention will be paid to the collection of nets for mussel farming Puglia and Liguria, where the European Life Muscles project is underway. Plastic nets (or socks) represent waste present in the seabed and on the coasts near mussel farms, therefore among the actions of the project coordinated by Legambiente there is the involvement of local communities in citizen science and awareness.

The objectives of Clean Beaches and Seabeds and Life Muscles will meet in the four initiatives organized beyond the weekend that opens the campaign to clean up mismanaged and abandoned waste on beaches and shores.

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It starts on May 12th with the Viva Palmaria day, named after the island in the Gulf of La Spezia, where participants will be involved in a beach litter. “Viva Palmaria, a Sunday on the island” is organized by Palmaria APS and involves, in addition to Legambiente, also Coop, the Students' Union, Rete Ambiente Altro Turismo, Il Fra Posidonia Committee, Blue Life, Auser. Remaining in Ligurian territory, on May 25th we will continue with the cleaning activities organized on the Fiumaretta beach (Ameglia – SP).

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Two dates scheduled in Puglia: May 20th in Marina di Lesina (FG) in collaboration with the Comprehensive Institute of Lesina and Poggio Imperiale and on 2 June in Torre Mileto with the Circolo Legambiente Iride of San Nicandro Garganico.

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“Clean beaches? You staple us!” is the slogan chosen for the 2024 edition, a real call to responsibility to invite everyone to collaborate on the front line for the regeneration of marine and coastal places. The invitation is also to post photos of particular or strange waste found on the beaches on social media, reporting the place of discovery, using Instagram stories, as well as tagging the Legambiente profile and the hashtag #SpiaggeFondaliPuliti. Also this year Sammontana (as main partner) and Biotherm (as partner) will support the Spiagge e Fondali Puliti 2024 initiatives.

The aim is also to raise people's awareness of the problem of marine litter and the correct disposal of waste. Legambiente's new Beach litter survey provides a picture of the situation with an analysis of beached waste collected and cataloged by the environmentalist association and the use for the first time of the Clean Coast Index (CCI), a useful indicator for determining the "level of cleanliness" of the beaches in an immediate and objective way, based on the density of waste present in the monitored sample areas and used internationally. Special observations were made on 33 beaches belonging to 12 regions of the Peninsula for a total of 179,000 m2 monitored.

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“The activities that characterize the Clean Beaches and Seabeds campaign offer everyone a concrete example of how even small gestures can generate a message that is as powerful as it is often ignored: nature is our home, we must take care of it – declares Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente - The data collected in our annual survey on the pollution of beaches and shores due to the abandonment of waste confirm how collective cleaning campaigns are still necessary, given the trend of increasing waste dispersed in the environment linked to food consumption. It is on the habits of those who frequent natural spaces, such as beaches and the banks of rivers and lakes, that we must continue to intervene through information and awareness-raising activities and with the implementation of effective collection services for these more delicate and complicated contexts to reach. What better way than a public mobilization to free the coastal stretches from waste which remains a growing environmental problem, a real risk for marine and coastal fauna and also a deterrent for the tourist value of the places."

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Clean beaches and seabeds not only in Italy with Clean Up the Med. On the weekend from 10th to 12th May you will be able to participate in the days dedicated to the redevelopment of marine and coastal environments even beyond the Italian borders. As part of the international Clean Up the Med campaign, of which Legambiente is the organiser, 80 entities - including environmental associations, tourist facilities, universities, schools and public administrations - will get to work for the natural restoration of beaches and seabeds in 12 Countries in the Mediterranean basin: Albania, Algeria, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia.

Legambiente press office: Rita Murgese r.murgese@legambiente.it

Luisa Calderaro 3496546593 – head of Legambiente press office

Ilenia De Simone 3715962334