More than 700 young people have already taken part in this project promoted by IbizaPreservation and 0 Plastic
Ibiza, 15/02/23 – IbizaPreservation has joined forces once more with environmental entities in Menorca and Mallorca to promote the third edition of “Kilometres of Plastic for Iris,” a Balearic initiative aimed at young people from 12 to 19 years old, the objective of which is to involve new generations in the reduction of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean.
0 Plastic, a movement led by the YouSocial Volunteer association, is organising the initiative with additional support from Mallorca Preservation and Menorca Preservation, both members of the Conservation Collective, a global network of environmental foundations which also includes IbizaPreservation.
“Kilometres of Plastic for Iris” invites Secondary and Sixth Form students as well as those in vocational training, to arrange nature excursions with friends and/or family and share ideas on how to reduce plastic pollution on their islands in video format. This third edition focuses on the problem of microplastics, fragments of less than 5 mm in diameter that often go unnoticed, but which pose a great threat to the health of ecosystems.
In 2022, the participants managed to cover 14,000km collectively, and so this year the initiative has set itself the challenge of reaching 20,000km.
“As youngsters here in the Balearics have already proven their ability to excel in previous editions, we dared to set the goal this time at 20,000 kilometres. It won’t be easy, but we have faith in the participants and their capacity to inspire other people around them to reduce their use of plastic and join the fight against the pollution generated by this material,” says Alex Mur, one of the co-founders of 0 Plastic.
In addition, participants will have the opportunity to take part in the “One minute for your island” contest, creating a one-minute video in pairs answering the question: “What would you do to fight microplastic pollution on your island?”
Creative solutions for private citizens, the general public or businesses based on the 5 R’s of 0 Plastic – Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, Repair and Recycle – will be evaluated, especially those that emphasise how to address the proliferation of microplastics in the Mediterranean in general and the Balearic Islands in particular.
The contest has the support of the Alnitak Research Institute, allowing the winners to enjoy a sailing expedition of 1-day (Years 8 and 9) or 7 days (Years 10 to 13 and those in vocational training programmes) in the Mediterranean together with the institute’s researchers, in order to carry out marine conservation activities.
“IbizaPreservation is delighted to continue participating in this project, which places value on the potential role of younger generations in the preservation and regeneration of our environment,” said Inma Saranova, director of IbizaPreservation, who added that young people are increasingly aware of environmental problems. “In the last edition we were able to see first-hand that the young people of the Balearics are very aware of the problems affecting our planet and our islands and actively want to do something to change the situation. This same concern was very evident in the last edition of the Future Forum that we held in Formentera, where the winners of Kilometres of Plastic for Iris shared their experience and willingness to act with the rest of the children and young people present.”
“Kilometres of Plastic for Iris” was set up in memory of Iris Goldsmith, a young environmental activist and daughter of Ben Goldsmith, co-founder of IbizaPreservation and president of the Conservation Collective. Its purpose is to inspire and mobilise young people from the four Balearic Islands and encourage them to be the true drivers of change.
Registration for the contest is now open on @kilometrosdeplasticoporiris’s Instagram and young people who are interested can find further information in the Projects section of the 0 Plastic website.
