Unexpectedly large for the summer season is the number of four thousand microplastics per square meter found on the beaches of Paphos, according to the Akti Research Center.
Speaking to "F", the head of the Center, Dr. Xenia Loizidou, said that the problem with microplastics on the coasts of Cyprus is not new, however this time their very large number occurs in summer, instead of winter as usual, which is why it caused general concern.
This is a problem that has existed for years and is intensifying, the Mediterranean is the sea with the most plastic pollution on the planet, stressed Ms. Loizidou. With the Coast, we have been counting them on 10 coasts of free Cyprus, four times a year since 2022. We are measuring them on our own initiative and at our own cost, because the problem was not considered significant by the authorities, she pointed out.
The Akti Research Center now has a large database, he stressed and announced that up to 4000 microplastics per square meter were measured on the beaches of Paphos. This fact, although it was even announced at conferences, said Xenia Loizidou, caused a sensation now possibly because they now accumulate on the coast in the summer, while this accumulation of microplastics usually occurs in winter.
Obviously, she estimated, there was a strong wave in the Eastern Mediterranean that created this mobility and the deposition of microplastics on the beach in the summer, when the problem was noticed.
Microplastics, according to the head of "Akti", come from the sea mainly from illegal coastal landfills in our neighbouring non-European countries and from estuaries in our neighbouring non-European countries, which dump large amounts of plastic.
As far as our own responsibilities are concerned, emphasizes Dr. Loizidou, what the authorities can do is to check that the rainwater pipes from our cities do not end up in the sea since the rainwater runoff from our cities is a significant source of microplastics, to control the mini-cruises, which are a source of garbage and waste in the coastal zone, to find a substantial solution for the recycling of fishing gear, without victimizing our fishermen and finding a solution for the management of plastic soil coverings and plastics from greenhouses to agricultural crops
Above all, she concluded, all harsh coastal projects, such as the chain of breakwaters on the coast of Paphos-Geroskipou, which create conditions for the accumulation of microplastics and disrupt the coastal dynamics in the wider area, should be suspended.
Here are some solutions. There is Rhodes. If they really want to deal with the problem of plastic pollution, the accumulation of pollutants and the quality of our coasts. They are not unknown, we have been talking about them for years, documenting them, shouting about out.
Everything else is redundant.
