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As A Tourist

As A Tourist

Have an environmentally friendly attitude!

As A Citizen & Consumer

As A Citizen & Consumer

Your choices can really make a difference!

Kick the habit of putting out your cigarette in the sand for Good!

Why

Discarded cigarette butts are a form of non-biodegradable litter. Carried as runoff from streets to drains, to rivers and ultimately to the ocean and its beaches. Cigarette filters are the single most collected item in international beach cleanups each year.

How

Carry a portable ashtray or a small box in your bag to keep your cigarette butts when there are no ashtrays around in order to dispose of them in a bin, later.

Why

Beach litter ends up in the sea, polluting the water and seriously harming or even killing marine species like sea turtles. Plastics is the most common element of marine litter and is estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic enter the ocean each year

How

Make sure you always collect rubbish before leaving the beach and disposing them in an appropriate bin for recycling. Make sure that you have a rubbish bag with you if there is no recycling bin nearby. Make an extra effort to look for the nearest recycle bin to dispose your beach litter.

Collect your litter before leaving the beach and recycle them!

When on holidays in a sea turtle nesting area in the Mediterranean Sea!

Why

The Mediterranean Sea includes the world’s leading tourism destinations due to the region’s natural and cultural diversity. In 2010, 300 million tourists visited the Mediterranean coast, a figure that is projected to increase by 10 million tourists each year. The northeastern countries receive more than 20 percent of total visitors.

The Mediterranean shores were once pristine and free of pollutants. However, a steadily increasing coastal population and a huge tourism industry have resulted in soil erosion, loss of natural habitats and high pressure on ecosystems.

This manmade environmental degradation has negatively impacted the Mediterranean’s sea turtle population. 

From late April to mid-July, sea turtles return to their natal beaches to mate and nest. Eggs hatch 60 days after they were laid, so hatchling season in the Mediterranean Sea is from mid-June to early October. This, of course, coincides with the summer spike in tourism.  So we need to be extra careful.

How

Have a responsible tourist attitude and respect the environment and the instructions given by the beach guards and local authorities.

  • Properly dispose of waste rather than leaving it on the beach. 
  • Don’t use jet skis or mopeds. 
  • Refrain from walking on the beach at night
  • Don’t support restaurants, bars or hotels that have lights on the beach.
  • Encourage other tourists to act similarly.  
  • If you find an injured, stranded or dead sea turtle or you come across a nest, find out what to do here or contact the nearest Sea Turtle Rescue Centre.

Have an environmentally friendly attitude. Because waste, pollution and global warming directly affect the survival of sea turtles, it is crucial to pay attention to your everyday actions. By thinking and acting “Green” you can personally contribute to a better global environment and become a role model for others.

Watch this eight-minute animated training DVD for tourists in the Mediterranean by the Marine Conservation Society and the Travel Foundation in the UK:

Watch this!

Find what you can do as Consumer & Citizen.

Why: The plastic in our seas is killing hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and other marine life each year as they often mistake it for food and ingest it. Remember that sea turtles mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, which is their favourite snack.

How: It’s simple as long as you make it a habit and never forget it at home. Rather than collecting an abundance of single use plastic bags that are not only inconvenient, but harmful to the environment and costly (plastic bag extra charge), try using a reusable shopping bag. It’s good for the environment and your pocket!

Why: Water is our most valuable natural resource. By conserving your domestic consumption water you use at home for cooking, drinking, cleaning, washing, flashing the toilet etc, you are making a great first step! 

However, in order to secure water for all life in our planet in the future we need to cut down on the virtual water we consume by buying goods more wisely.

How: Domestic water conservation is easy and has big payoffs. Get informed by visiting websites which offer 100s of tips. Consume less meat or choose meat which was raised on grass and never waste food!

Why: Consumer choices make a big difference!

How: Select products that are eco-friendly and/or offered by a responsible (ethical) business or by a local community in need. Buy local to support your community and reduce the carbon footprint involved in goods transportation. Think of making gifts that support a good blue cause! Never buy products derived from endangered species such as sea turtles.

Why: Chemicals used to make most of the products we use daily end up in our seas, poisoning marine life and our food chain! They can be disruptive to the development, reproductive, neurological and immune systems of animals and humans.

How: Many product makers are phasing out harmful substances in their processes. ChooseGreenhousehold cleaning products, paints, beauty products, toys, clothes and organic foods.

Why: The majority of our seas are overfished jeopardising food security of more than 1 billion people for whom fish is a primary source of protein. The use of destructive fishing techniques means sea turtles and marine mammals are killed in the process and their ecosystems destroyed. 

In recent years demand for seafood in the EU has increased and fish supply consists, mainly, of fish caught in distant waters, aquaculture and imports. Mislabelled fish is presented as sustainably harvested by large corporations, misleading consumers.

How: Don’t buy processed fish meals covered in sauces or fish sticks to avoid fraud, as it is difficult to tell what you are actually eating. There are dozens of guides for consumers available online, that will help you make the right choice depending on what country you live in. Look for one!

 We are responsible for choosing what we eat. For European countries, visit the European Commission’s website.

Why: An innocent car wash can be a cause of pollution of seas and oceans. Through untreated water being discharged to the storm drain system, heavy metals and toxic fluids find their way into the sea. 

How: Prefer taking your car to a car wash that has wash water collection methods so as to prevent discharges to the storm drain system, otherwise they will end up in the sea. Most products available for car wash, contain substances which are harmful to the environment. Read the labels carefully! Choose a product that doesn’t require the use of water which could runoff into our seas and oceans. By washing the car on your lawn, the soil and grass will filter the wastewater and you will be watering the lawn at the same time!

Why: Climate change is a major threat to our oceans and marine species: higher sea temperatures, ocean acidification. Global warming has a direct effect on sea turtle nesting beaches as higher sand temperatures produce more female hatchlings. Increased ocean temperatures can lead to coral bleaching and other damage to turtle feeding habitats. Any sea level rise may lead to the loss of nesting beaches. Changes in ocean currents can modify migration paths and feeding patterns.

How: When it will be time to change your bulbs and electrical appliances, choose low energy consumption ones. Support or use renewable energy solutions, prefer walking, carpool, recycle and fly carbon neutral!

Why: Marine litter is turning our seabeds into dumps and it’s also deadly to sea turtles and other marine species that mistake it for food.

How: Avoid unnecessary waste. Choose products with less packaging, which are made with recycled material or which are at least, recyclable. Prefer refillable to single-use containers and reuse everything you can… before recycling it.

Be creative and upcycle! Take a minute to think smart and make environmentally sound decisions at the store, at all places and times. Save natural resources, landfill space and money.

Why: MEDASSET works to safeguard and preserve the marine environment to improve our quality of our life and that of our children’s. 

But we can’t do it without your support!

How: We rely on individual donations to continue our work. If you wish to help us, you can order a unique item from our gift shop or donate.

Support our efforts by donating and receive a gift from our “Serendipities” collection.