Sea Plastics, an association founded in 2016 by three students from the French engineering school AgroParisTech, has developed an environmental awareness and awareness action plan as they pass through Valencia, together with the Lycée Français and in collaboration with the Oceanogràfic Foundation, on micro plastics, based on RCN de Valencia from where they will explain their research to the public and report on this environmental problem.
Today's event was attended by Paula Puzón. Regional Secretary for the Environment of the Generalitat Valenciana, accompanied by Juan i Huguet. Regional Secretary for Innovation and Digital Transformation; Marisa Tejerizo and Marisa Bueno from the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition; Sergi Campillo, Vice Mayor of the Valencia City Council, accompanied by Giusepe Gressi, Councilor; Ana Viciano. Head of the beaches of the Valencia City Council; Virginia Yuste, Vice President of ADEAC- Blue Flag program; Ana Pérez-Montero. Technical Director of ADEAC; Celia Calabuig. President of the Valencia Oceanogràfic Foundation; Pepa Ferrando and Elena Balaguer from the Valencia Oceanogràfic Foundation; Dimitri Jelinski. President of SEA Plastics, accompanied by its Vice President Lorraine Wemaere, as well as Manon Vichot and Hélène Lovato; Alejandro Fliquete, president of the RCN Valencia, together with José Rubio Vice-president, Salvador Bueno Secretary General, Carlos de Beltrán, Manager of the RCN of Valencia.
Attendee statements:
“For the Real Club Náutico of Valencia, it is an honor to be able to have the Sea Plastics vessel in our facilities today and to use the Club as a base port. From here they will explain to the public the research they have carried out on this environmental problem, together with Lycée Français and in collaboration with the Oceanographic Foundation.
Discharges into the sea - especially plastics - are causing serious damage to the environment and seriously damaging our environment.
From the Club we want to educate all our sailors and, especially, the young people who are taking their first steps in sailing, of the importance for humanity of taking maximum care of this precious asset as the sea. It is the great lung that we have on our planet and we are obliged to take care of it and protect it ”, explains Alejandro Fliquete.
“The research we are carrying out aims to study the plastic fragments of less than 5 millimeters present in the Mediterranean, by taking water samples from the surface up to 50 meters deep. The expedition is also developing new protocols for taking samples of nanoplastics, invisible to the human eye, but very numerous. ”- declares Manon Vichot, Secretary of Sea Plastics.
“When SEA Plastics contacted Blue Flag, we did not hesitate to put ourselves at their disposal to facilitate their journey between the marinas of Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands, as it’s very important to us to investigate the micro-plastics that are affecting our Mediterranean Sea so much. Invisible pollution is one of the issues on which we try to raise public awareness through our environmental education programs”. - declares Virginia Yuste, Vice President of ADEAC
“This year, more than ever, we have seen the importance of preserving and restoring biodiversity in our ecosystems. The analysis of water quality and research such as the Sea Plastics project are essential to develop initiatives aimed at reducing plastics and micro-plastics in the marine environment”, declares Paula Tuzón, Regional Secretary for Climate Emergency and Ecological Transition of the Valencian generalitat.
Tuzón has highlighted the impulse and support of the Department of all actions aimed at improving water quality and has valued "the search for solutions to the problem of plastic in the seas, from the base of knowledge and scientific study".
The Vice Mayor of Valencia and Councilor for Urban Ecology, Sergi Campillo, welcomed the arrival of the Sea Plastics ship to the city to “raise awareness, based on science and research, of the need to reduce the consumption of packaging and plastics, and that in case of doing so they are deposited in the yellow containers to facilitate their recycling”.
The deputy mayor recalled that the fight against the pollution of plastics and micro-plastics in the sea and in our natural landscapes is collective "it is up to the administrations and the citizens as a whole."
For Campillo, “it is very important to become aware of the serious environmental crisis that the planet is suffering caused not only by the effect of the increase in temperatures as a result of the use of fossil fuels but also by the contamination of plastics and micro-plastics in the environment. Marine".
“The Oceanographic Foundation works to protect the environment and marine life. Among its different lines of research and conservation, it has a marine litter monitoring project together with MITECO through which the reality of beaches can be learned and allows the population to be aware of the importance of caring for the oceans. In collaboration with SEA Plastics, as well as with other entities for environmental purposes, it has carried out a beach clean-up and returned a turtle recovered in the ARCA del Mar to the sea.
For the Oceanographic Foundation it is a pleasure and recognition to be able to join forces with those of an organization like SEA Plastics, because thanks to alliances of this type we are able to raise awareness among more people and thus achieve a change. ”- Elena Belenguer tells us.
