The Mediterranean Sea is the cradle of civilizations and an extraordinary environmental heritage.
All our roots and history, comes from the deep of this space of water that has always been the origin of global trade for millennia.

Goods from the mysterious East have arrived here since ancient times…the Mediterranean where peoples, cultures and religions met, is today one of the most polluted seas in the world due to plastics.

Plastic represents 95% of waste in the open sea, on the seabed and on the beaches of the Mediterranean. But it is microplastics, smaller and more insidious fragments, that reach record concentrations in the Mediterranean almost 4 times higher than those recorded in the "plastic island". ” of the North Pacific. By entering the food chain, these fragments threaten even more animal species and also put human health at risk.

The Italian plastic island is located off the coast of the Tuscany Archipelago, fed by waste from the rivers Arno, Tevere and Sarno. 

Plastic pollution represents a serious threat in the seas and oceans globally. Around 8 million tons of waste are concentrated in specific areas called "plastic islands". Italy occupies second place, with 7% of microplastics compared to the world average. A serious danger for the natural balance and the survival of 700 species of the marine ecosystem which risk their lives due to entrapment, ingestion, suffocation and release of toxic chemical substances.

Where is the 'floating' island in Italy located? 

Research conducted by the Universities of Manchester, Durham and Bremen, together with the British Oceanographic Center NOC revealed that the Italian plastic island is located off the coast of the Tuscany Archipelago. The concentration of plastic waste is greater and cyclical between the islands of Elba and Corsica, especially in the seabed. Its formation derives from piles of bottles, bottles, bags, straws, food containers, cutlery, disposable glasses, polystyrene and fishing objects dispersed on the surface of the sea. A real open-air landfill fed by waste from the Arno river, the Tevere and the Sarno. It extends for a few tens of kilometers and tends to expand exponentially. Furthermore, the high temperature of the water contributes to the formation of micro fragments that accumulate in the seabed, persisting over time.

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