Cyclades Preservation Fund
I spent the first week of November in the beautiful Syros island and the amazing ‘Precious Plastic’ lab of Apano Meria organization! From the beginning, Eleni and Spyros, the people in charge of the project, welcomed me and guided me to the lab. There, Spyros showed me the upcycling machines they have made and explained to me the usefulness and functionality of each one.
My daily work in the lab mainly included the separation of plastic lids based on color (a rather meditative process I would say!) And their crushing in the shreder machine.
I also got in touch with the KOINSEP (social enterprise) “Apano Meria” other work and listened with great interest their vision, as Eleni conveyed it to me:
the sustainable touristic development of Apano Meria region in Syros, with respect for nature and an alternative approach to what an island can offer to its visitors (nature walks, paths that lead to secluded beaches and maintaining the cultural heritage of the island).
In conclusion, I have to say that it was definitely a worthwhile experience and I would like to share some thoughts that came to me.
Initially, the view with the crates from the lids was something impressive!
I think that the Plastic lab itself is a fantastic educational program to get into the schools, because when you go to the trouble of managing this amount of waste, you start to realize the impact it has on the environment, as well as it can make you think that -perhaps- the most ideal way of management would be non-production from the beginning and -perhaps- the best way to do this is for us consumers to choose companies and products that choose sustainable packaging and respect the environment, because in the end where we spend our money, some times is louder than any vote we give!
We would like to thank Evanthia for her generous contribution and her positive vibes for the project and wish to see her again in Syros!
As I was separating and emptying some of them, I realized that each crate corresponds to a multiple volume of plastic bottles, which will also need to be managed in some way or end up in a landfill and at sea.
