Waste collection to raise awareness among schoolchildren

Every year, up to 12 million tonnes of plastic end up in the oceans and 80% of this waste found at sea comes from land. As the ocean is the primary climate regulator, preserving marine ecosystems also means fighting global warming.

To take action and implement appropriate and effective public policies, we need to better understand this pollution: data on waste collected during clean-up operations are invaluable and enable us to trace the origin of waste to establish recommendations. It is also essential to involve the younger generations to raise their awareness of this pollution and prevent the same mistakes from being made again.

To meet this dual challenge, MerTerre has developed the participatory science program Adopt'1 Spot: a central tool of the Zéro Déchet Sauvage collaborative platform. Thanks to regular pick-ups, this program makes it possible toprotect fragile locations subject to chronic pollution and monitor this issue by collecting reliable data on the waste collected.

Through its educational component, Adopt'1 Spot also makes it possible toraise awareness in a fun way among schoolchildren (schools, middle schools, high schools, leisure centers, etc.), to introduce them to the scientific approach in the field and to make them aware of their ability to protect the environment.