Plastic bottles and cigarette butts are among the most harmful types of rubbish found on beaches. Plastic bottles can take 450 years to dissolve in the ocean and release oil that harms animal organisms. Cigarette butts also take years to dissolve and can be found at a rate of 15 butts per square meter on some Greek beaches. Statistical analysis of garbage collected from Greek beaches over several years found that plastic makes up 37-51% of rubbish, including plastic bottle caps and pieces from unknown sources. Each piece of trash discarded without care harms coastal and ocean environments.

1. Identifying and classifying
SEA RUBBISH
Achilles S.

2. Did you know this?
While herbal products are dissolved in a few weeks, an aluminium can takes
80-200 years while a plastic bottle 450 years! Let us consider the impacts
that may occur every time that without regard we leave our trash on a
beach or throw it overboard. Even a cigarette that someone will throw
from the deck of a ship takes years to dissolve!

3. Plastic bottles
When throwing a plastic bottle, which as
far as we know contains a small amount
of oil, on the coast, the air blows it off to
the sea. The plastic within 400-450 years
will have melted. But as the plastic melts,
the oil spreads to the sea, with the result
to harm some animal organisms. This is
made by one bottle, think what will
happen with the thousands of bottles.

4. With each garbage we throw away,
we kill an animal…

5. Cigarette butts
• The Greek coasts may be the most beautiful and
the beaches of our country to attract visitors,
however we still have not managed to solve the
problem with waste that bathers leave behind
after a visit to the sea.
• Indicative is what is described by the report «Life
Ammos» University of Patras, of the
environmental organization Mediterranean SOS,
the environmental organization Terra Nova Ltd.
and Marc SA, indicating for example that on the
Schinias beach were detected on average 15
butts per square meters

6. Plastic caps
• During the period 2006-2012 the volunteers wrote
down a total of 343 454 garbage. From the statistical
analysis of the written sheets it is clear that the
dominant element is the plastic with 37-51%
participation. It is followed by the paper (12-18%),
metal (7-16%) and glass (5-9%) trash.
• Plastic cαps, plastic water, soft drinks or beverage
bottles are in the first places, then followed by the
plastic pieces of unknown initial use, straws,
cardboard, pieces of paper, cans. It is noted that the
absence of cigarette ends from recordings is because
the campaign does not give emphasis on smokers'
rubbish.