The Tanger-Tétouan Ocean Initiatives have just launched a campaign in the region to raise awareness about plastic pollution under the slogan "All at war against plastic".

"Our goal is to reduce our plastic footprint, mobilise and raise awareness among a large public, particularly young people, about plastic pollution, as well as to promote sorting and recycling to remedy this major ecological problem," says Sara Médiouni, one of the managers of this regional representation, during a press conference held on Monday, 13 May, in Tangier.

Known for their associative activism, Anne Scheuer, Sara Médiouni, and Annalù Sabetta have committed themselves to developing the actions of the Ocean Initiatives in the region, created in 1996 by the Surfrider Foundation Europe. The managers of the new regional branch of Tanger-Tétouan plan to bring together 1,000 people on Saturday, 18 May, to participate in cleaning the municipal beach and the Diplomatic Forest beach.

To be able to rid the region's beaches and rivers of plastic waste by the end of the summer, "the programme includes four clean-ups scheduled to be organised next June, respectively on the municipal beach of Tangier and those of the Diplomatic Forest, Achakar, and Martil. The month of August will see sixteen other clean-ups of the region's beaches," according to the organisers, noting that this initiative will be reinforced in September and October by the organisation of a hundred beach clean-ups in the region.

Newly created, the Tanger-Tétouan Ocean Initiatives started their activities on 13 April with a first clean-up of the Diplomatic Forest beach in Tangier, in which some 120 participants took part. This first day of cleaning allowed for the collection of 100 bin bags, 80% of which consisted of plastic waste.

In addition to the events organised as part of the fight against plastic pollution, the Tanger-Tétouan Ocean Initiatives plan to carry out several projects in development, including the creation of plastic object recycling workshops, mobile selective sorting bin installations created from recycled objects, the development of collection points for ink cartridges, batteries, and electrical equipment, as well as the conclusion of partnerships with the media for the widest dissemination of practical and civic advice for environmental protection.