00:00The 186th underwater cleanup operation by the Greek volunteer diving team We Dive, We Clean
00:06and its first of the year took place in Vathi, Ithaca.
00:09The diving team removed around 1,300 kilograms of solid waste
00:13from the seabed of the wider harbour area as part of a two-day environmental operation.
00:18The We Dive, We Clean team marks 13 years of systematic underwater environmental activity
00:24across various parts of Greece.
00:25Its overall work now amounts to almost 73 tonnes of waste recovered from the Greek seabed.
00:31The conditions encountered by the volunteer divers in Ithaca's harbour
00:35highlight both the scale of marine pollution and the wide variety of waste that ends up in the sea.
00:41Among the waste recovered were plastic and glass bottles, aluminium cans, fishing line, batteries,
00:48vehicle tyres of various sizes, carpets and even a whole plastic boat.
00:54Removing such items is an important step towards improving the condition of the seabed
00:59since waste can burden the marine ecosystem, trap marine organisms and degrade the quality of the coastal environment.
01:08Of particular interest was the team's observation that much of the waste recovered from the seabed
01:14appears to date back several years, which may suggest that the public has become more aware of the need to
01:21protect the environment.
