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Signing of the Plast’ile project to combat plastic pollution in the Mediterranean
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On 9 September 2021, as part of the IUCN’s World Conservation Congress, the FFEM has signed a financing agreement with the NGO SMILO to support the island pilot site of Kerkennah in Tunisia in implementing a sustainable plastic waste management strategy..
According to a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, if no action is taken there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050. The archipelago of Kerkennah in Tunisia has not escaped this pollution, with over 600 tonnes of waste thrown into the sea every year by its some 2,500 fishermen.
To combat this issue, the FFEM is backing the Plast’ile project, which offers an innovative technical solution to the problem of plastic fishing traps being abandoned at sea. A pyrolysis machine has been deployed by the NGO SMILO (Small Islands Organisation) and Earthwake to encourage fishermen to collect their waste and turn the used plastic into fuel.
This project, supported by the FFEM, can set a valuable example since it aims to support energy transition by furthering the work initiated on the collection, treatment and recovery of waste, and the launch of a "zero plastic waste" dynamic. It does so while primarily supporting the evolution of fishing industry practices and fostering integrated regional management.