Over 20 tons of garbage were collected by 3,734 volunteers from 425 locations worldwide during September 2025, as part of the action #potavristou the Akti Research Center. This year's campaign surpassed last year's records of 16 tons collected by 3,200 volunteers from 373 points in Cyprus and abroad, taking the Cypriot movement to new places on the map: From the Philippines to Marseille, and from Texas to Iceland, #potavristou volunteers cleaned cities, coasts, mountains, parks, lakes and sent us valuable field data: 89% of the garbage is plastic.
In the seven years of its implementation, more than 17,000 volunteers #potavristou participated, who collected 110 tons of garbage from 2,095 locations in Cyprus and abroad. 110 tons of garbage, waiting for the first downpours to start their destructive cycle, to reach the sea and return to our lives "vindictively", as microplastics.
From 2019 until today, the action of #potavristou has gone beyond the borders of Cyprus: it was awarded in 2020 by the International Organization Ocean Conservancy, as one of the 10 most innovative actions worldwide for clean coasts and seas and in 2021 by the network of Mediterranean NGOs for the environment and culture.
In 2022, #potavristou's campaign once again received the support of the international organization Ocean Conservancy, as part of the #TeamSeas campaign and was awarded a silver award at the Carob Awards 2022. T
In 2024, he received a special mention for the Society4Med awards organized by BlueMissionMed in the framework of the EU Mission Restore our Ocean and Ocean, in the category "Awareness and Communication Campaigns/Activities".
In 2025, Akti received the European Citizens' Gold Award, awarded in the context of the Delphi Economic Forum by Europa Nostra, for 25 years of pioneering action for sustainability in Cyprus and Europe, with the #Potavristou being one of the actions of the organization that the committee recognizes as innovative and pioneering.
