Pilot areas
For all locations the software app will be used to target the local population, tourists and enable local economies to offer and provide social rewards.
Krk Island, Croatia
The island of Krk, also known as „the Golden Island“, is considered one of the most attractive tourist destinations on the Croatian coast due to the mild Mediterranean climate and diversified natural and cultural heritage. Its richness and attractiveness were known even in the ancient times, labeling it as „the cradle of the Croatian culture“, as Krk is known today. Located in the Kvarner bay, close both to the mainland and other beautiful islands, Krk is easily reachable by various means of transport, making it an alluring destination for many travellers.
Since 2013 Krk has been part of Natura 2000, an international network of protected areas, connecting the most valuable and threatened species and habitat in Europe. Under protection on Krk are 5 species of the Nature Directive and 7 habitat types of the Habitats Directive. On its longest part Krk reaches 38 km while the width stretches 20 km at the widest point, totaling in 377 km2 of the surface area. With a coast having more than 190 km in length, Krk has a number of natural sites vulnerable to marine litter, which makes it a great location as one of our testing areas.
Venice Lagoon, Italy
The North Adriatic Sea and the Venice coastal area are well renowned for both the richness and fragility of their natural and cultural settings and ecosystems. In proof of this, Venice and its Lagoon, with more than 500 km2 as the largest wetlands in Italy and in the Mediterranean sea, is a World Heritage site since 1987, approved on six criteria of Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage Convention and its current operational guidelines. A minor part of the Venice wetlands (500 hectares) is also included in the official Ramsar List under the appellate “Laguna di Venezia: Valle Averto” since 1989.
Venice has several factors playing a part in concentration of plastics pollution, among others: its unique features in terms of morphological urban and natural settings, density of both residents (decreasing in numbers) and transient population (increasing), within which mass tourism, especially in pre-covid period, is a major issue to acknowledge and address.
Thames river, UK
The river Thames, rising at Thames Head in Gloucestershire in England and flowing into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section reaches up to Teddington Lock.
The catchment area of the Thames covers a large portion of south-eastern and a small part of western England, with the river being fed by 50 known tributaries. The waters vary from freshwater to almost seawater, thus supporting a variety of wildlife and has a number of neighbouring sites of Scientific Special Interest, the largest being in the North Kent Marshes. The entire tidal Thames and tributaries within Greater London are classified as Sites of Metropolitan Importance for Wildlife.
The Thames faces sewage pollution, the growing problem of plastic waste, toxic chemicals from road run-off, invasive plants and the impact of drought and flooding. These dangers don’t just impact the Thames and its wildlife, they threaten us too – our quality of life and our city’s prosperity. The tidal Thames has numerous plastic waste hotspots scattered from the west of London all the way to the mouth of the estuary, making this a great testing ground for pilot actions.
Sint Maarten, part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Sint Maarten/Saint Martin, known as the “Friendly Island”, is part of the Caribbean Leeward Islands. The small island consists of two countries: Sint Maarten (an independent nation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands) and Saint Martin (a French overseas collectivity). The Nature Foundation is the designated authority to manage the terrestrial and marine ecosystems on Dutch Sint Maarten and manages the “Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area”.
The island boasts 37 beaches, semi-mountainous terrain, and several bays. Simpson Bay Lagoon, the largest inland lagoon in the Caribbean, provides shelter for several marine species. Mullet Pond, a wetland of international importance, holds some of the few intact seagrass beds in the lagoon and 70% of the remaining mangrove forest on Sint Maarten.
As a popular vacation destination with inadequate local waste management facilities, residents and tourists generate much plastic pollution on Sint Maarten. Additionally, large amounts of plastic and debris from other countries wash onto the island’s shores. In 2021, Sint Maarten plans to introduce a single-use plastic ban to reduce plastic bags, straws, and styrofoam food containers on the island.
In-No-Plastic is conducted by Dutch Sint Maarten and implemented by the environmental management authority, the Nature Foundation, with support from the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance.